SCOTLAND

Scottish Parliament: Elections

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans his Department has to establish an inquiry into the conduct of the recent Scottish parliamentary elections.

David Cairns: The Electoral Commission has a statutory obligation to review the Scottish parliamentary elections. This review is to be undertaken under the independent leadership of Mr. Ron Gould. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State indicated during exchanges following his statement to the House on 8 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 22-36, consideration will be given to whether, in light of the conclusions of the review, further investigations are necessary.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Political Parties: Finance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Leader of the House if he will make it his policy not to introduce measures for  (a) additional state funding of political parties and  (b) new expenditure controls unless there is political consensus between the three main parties on the proposed reforms.

Jack Straw: The Government are committed to working out the practical arrangements needed to take the regulatory framework for party finance and expenditure to new levels of rigour, transparency, fairness and effectiveness. The precise nature of those arrangements will depend on the outcome of cross-party talks, which are being chaired by Sir Hayden Phillips.
	The Government believe that all political parties must play a constructive part in those talks so that a system of party finance and expenditure can be agreed in which the public can have confidence.
	The Government have this week agreed with the conclusions of the cross-party Constitutional Affairs Committee's report of December 2006 about the key principles on which any reform should be based.
	This is a clear indication of the Government's constructive approach to the talks, and their hope that a consensus between the parties can be reached.

Political Parties: Finance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Leader of the House if he will make it his policy not to introduce measures on reform of the funding of political parties until the inter-party talks on the funding of political parties chaired by Sir Hayden Phillips have been concluded.

Jack Straw: The Government have no plans to introduce measures on reform of the funding of political parties until the inter-party talks chaired by Sir Hayden Phillips have been concluded.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departments: Grants

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which grants for which her Department is responsible have been given to Westminster City Council since 1997; and what the value was of such grants.

David Lammy: In the Revenue return to Communities and Local Government, Westminster reported that they have received no grants between 1997-98 and 2006-07 from my Department. These specific grants are those inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services) paid to Westminster and exclude grants outside AEF such as capital grants, funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities, European funding; or where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
	These Revenue returns do not therefore detail the money that is paid out by the National Lottery, DCMS non-departmental public bodies and other sources. Departmental data indicate that the following grants were paid to Westminster:
	Since November 2005, DCMS has provided funding to Westminster city council to manage the contract for the 7 July Assistance Centre—a centre established to offer practical and emotional assistance to victims of the 7 July London bombings and emergencies overseas. The funding is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Grant (£) 
			 November 2005 to March 2006 89,425 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 204,797 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 (confirmed funding) 235,000 
			 Total 529,222 
		
	
	The following table shows the number and value of grants on the Department's Lottery Grants Database (which uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors) where the name of the recipient is recorded as either 'Westminster city council' or 'city of Westminster'. Lottery distributing bodies make grant decisions independently of my Department.
	
		
			  Calendar year  Number of grants  Value of grants to nearest £1,000 
			 1997 0 0 
			 1998 0 0 
			 1999 1 50,000 
			 2000 3 702,000 
			 2001 3 169,000 
			 2002 4 120,000 
			 2003 2 116,000 
			 2004 4 794,000 
			 2005 4 141,000 
			 2006 2 40,000 
			 2007 (to date) 1 39,000 
			 Total 24 2,171,000 
		
	
	English Heritage has provided grants totalling £239,735 to Westminster city council since 1997, in the following table.
	
		
			  Project  Date  Grant (£) 
			 World Square Feasibility Study 31 March 1998 15,000 
			 Conservation Officer post 15 July 1998 3,912 
			 Conservation Officer post 31 March 2000 26,577 
			 Conservation Officer post 28 March 2001 37,665 
			 Conservation Officer post 27 March 2002 14,151 
			 Conservation Officer post 8 April 2003 16,483 
			 Conservation Officer post 19 March 2004 19,751 
			 Conservation Officer post 25 February 2005 11,196 
			 Soho Conservation Area Study 12 March 2004 5,000 
			 Hyde Park Corner landscaping works 24 March 2006 90,000 
			 Total  239,735

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total value of private finance initiative projects included in her Department's balance sheet  (a) is in 2007 and  (b) was in each of the last five years, broken down by project.

David Lammy: My Department does not have any private finance initiative projects included on its balance sheet for 2007 or for any of the five years preceding this.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value was of annual private finance initiative payments made by her Department from  (a) capital and  (b) revenue budgets in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: My Department has made no private finance initiative payments from either its capital or its revenue budget in the past five years.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what value of annual private finance initiative payments by her Department was classified as  (a) identifiable and  (b) non-identifiable in each of the last five years, broken down by project.

David Lammy: My Department has made no private finance initiative payments in any of the last five years.
	All payments made under PFI are identifiable. Prior to a PFI contract being signed the profile of unitary charge payments is agreed between the contractor and the public sector, subject to the operation of the payment mechanism.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what value of annual private finance initiative (PFI) payments was  (a) to repay capital and  (b) expenditure on other parts of each PFI contract in each of the last five years, broken down by project.

David Lammy: My Department has made no annual private finance initiative payments in any of the last five years.

Science

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial support her Department gives to  (a) museums,  (b) science centres and  (c) other projects which (i) promote (A) science and (B) engineering to the general public and (ii) are involved in adding value to the teaching of those subjects in schools.

David Lammy: DCMS supports the teaching of science and engineering in the following ways:
	 (a) Museums
	As highlighted in the OSI's review of DCMS's contribution to science and research, DCMS's sponsored bodies play a huge role in delivering public engagement in science through their educational and outreach programmes. DCMS spends £340 million (2007-08) on its directly sponsored museums and allocates £45 million (2007-08) to regional hub museums through the 'Renaissance in the Regions' programme, managed by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).
	Some individual museums have a direct remit for science education, such as the National Museum of Science and Industry (£38.48 million GIA in 2007-08), Natural History Museum (£45.09 million), Museum of Science and Industry Manchester (£4.17 million) and National Maritime Museum (£18.41 million) and a number of other DCMS-sponsored museums, for example National Museums Liverpool, have a significant science and technology-based element to their collections and offer a range of science-based learning activities. In addition, the Department awarded grants totalling £401,000 in 2006-07 through the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund to museums with predominantly science-based collections.
	DCMS funding has been directed by the Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) Council in a number of ways that allow regional museums to promote science and engineering to the general public, or to add value to the teaching of those subjects in schools:
	through Renaissance hub funding—many of the regional hub museums hold significant science and engineering collections;
	through the Renaissance Designated Challenge Fund—to improve the management and accessibility of collections designated as nationally significant for the benefit of the public;
	through the PRISM Grant Fund—grants are awarded to museums and similar organisations in England and Wales for the purpose of acquiring or conserving objects of scientific and industrial importance. A total of £250,000 is allocated to the fund each year.
	 (b) Science centres
	DCMS does not fund science centres. When the Millennium Commission first provided funding to set up science centres there was an expectation they would be self-supporting within three years. The DfES and DTI jointly gave science centres a £2 million funding package in 2004-06 to help alleviate short-term financial problems and provided a further £750,000 over the period 2006-08 for project work managed by Ecsite-uk.
	 (c) Other projects
	Since 2003 the National Museum of Science and Industry and its regional partner museums and galleries have received a total of £960,000 through the joint DCMS/DfES-funded museum education programme (known as 'Strategic Commissioning') for a series of projects designed to enrich the teaching of science in schools and to support the informal learning of older members and adults with English as a second language from local communities in north London. Through the same programme the Natural History Museum and its regional partners have received £560,000 for project work, which is supporting the teaching of secondary science in schools across England.
	MLA through the Renaissance Subject Specialist Networks (SSNs) grant programme enables specific networks of museums and galleries to share knowledge, expertise and collections, with the aim of improving visitors' experiences. Current SSNs include those which promote science and engineering to the general public, or are involved in adding value to the teaching of those subjects in schools.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the family carers group established by the Disability and Carers Service last met.

Anne McGuire: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 18 May 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the family carers group established by the Disability and Carers Service last met.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	I can confirm that the group last met on 22 January 2007. The next meeting is scheduled for 17 July 2007.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency: Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1194W, on the Child Support Agency, what the  (a) value and  (b) number was of bonus payments made to staff at the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years, broken down by staff grade.

James Plaskitt: The requested information is not available.

Children: Maintenance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether he approved the policy that the Child Support Agency Debt Collecting Agency may refuse to give information to customers and hon. Members on any progress they may be making in reclaiming non-paid maintenance;
	(2)  when he will be in a position to answer question 133132, on the Child Support Agency, tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 18 April 2007.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Jos Joures dated 18 May 2007:
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is out of the country, I am responding, with his authority, on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he approved the policy that the Child Support Agency Debt Collecting Agency may refuse to give information to customers and hon. Members on any progress they may be making in reclaiming non-paid maintenance.
	The Agency do not encourage parents with care to contact the debt collection agencies who are contracted to recover debt. If a parent with care requires an update on the progress of their case, they can contact the Child Support Agency directly and will secure an update on their behalf. The debt collection agencies are required to provide this update to the CSA when requested. Non-resident parents, however, should deal directly with the debt collection agencies when arranging the collection of arrears.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many credit card payments by non-resident parents have taken more than a week to be processed and passed on to the parent with care since 2005; and what the average time taken to pass on such payments has been in that period.

James Plaskitt: Unfortunately the information requested is unavailable, as the Agency does not record the information in the format requested, and the information could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have disputed the clerical account breakdown of money received by the Child Support Agency from non-resident parents since 2005.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

Children: Maintenance

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of child support claims relating to non-payment of full child support involving  (a) self-employed people and  (b) company directors;

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Jos Joures dated 18 May 2007:
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is out of the country I am responding, with his authority, on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of child support claims relating to non-payment of full child support involving  (a) self-employed people and  (b) company directors.
	In the three months ending December 2006, there were 25,320 cases charged by the Agency where the Non-Resident Parent was self-employed and not paying their full child support liability. These cases include those who only pay part of their maintenance.
	I am sorry but due to limitations of available information it has not been possible to provide you with statistics where a non-resident parent is a company director.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to combat the practice of parents diverting income through company employees to avoid paying their children's full entitlement of child support.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Jos Joures, dated 18 May 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. I am responding, with his authority, on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to combat the problem of parents diverting their income through company employees to avoid paying their children's full entitlement of child support.
	Existing child support legislation includes provisions for both old and new scheme cases to cover circumstances where the non-resident parent appears to have reduced or diverted their income to avoid meeting their obligations to maintain their children.
	For old scheme cases, where the parent with care has evidence that the non-resident parent is reducing their income to avoid their responsibilities, they can ask the Agency to review the maintenance assessment. This application, known as a 'Departure Direction', as the parent with care is requesting that the Agency departs from the original maintenance calculation, can be made in cases where the non-resident parents are able to control they amount of income they receive and where they unreasonably reduce that income.
	For new scheme cases the procedure is similar, if the parent with care has evidence to believe that the non resident parent is diverting income for the purpose of reducing the maintenance assessment, they can apply for a 'Variation' to the maintenance assessment.
	In either case, the decision maker will consider whether; the non-resident parent has the ability to control the amount of income they receive and whether they have deliberately reduced the level of income by diverting it to someone else or into a business in order to reduce or avoid child maintenance. The Agency is also required to consider whether it is "just and equitable" to make a departure or variation decision. Broadly this means that the result of the departure or variation must be fair, taking account of all the circumstances of the case, and, in particular, the welfare of any child likely to be affected. This includes the child for whom maintenance is paid as well as any other children living with either parent.
	The Agency will then consider the evidence and decide whether to restore the maintenance due to the level that it would have been had the income not been reduced. A typical example would be where the parent diverts income from a business to their spouse —who also works for the business—or where profits are retained in the company rather than producing an income.
	Finally, where an allegation is made or conflicting evidence exists that suggests the non-resident parent has made a false statement, the Agency will consider whether a referral to the Agency's Criminal Compliance Team is appropriate. Section 14A (2) of the Child Support Act 1991 makes it an offence to knowingly make a false statement in reply to a request for information.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of implementation of changes in child maintenance variation regulations made by the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 2 May 2007
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Jos Joures, dated 18 May 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is out of the country, I am responding, with his authority, on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of implementation of changes in child maintenance variation regulations made by the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005.
	The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 extended the ground in Regulation 19 of the Child Support (Variations) Regulations for a variation for income not taken into account under the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations 2000. Variation regulations were extended to cover cases in which the non-resident parent has the ability to control the amount of income he receives from a company or business and the Secretary of State is satisfied he is receiving income that would not otherwise be taken into account.
	The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 also amended the Child Support (Variations) Regulations 2000 by making provision to take into account financial assistance paid in respect to the long-term illness or disability of a relevant other child or disability living allowance paid on behalf of that child, to a member of the non-resident parent's household where there is an application for a variation for special expenses for that relevant other child. The Regulations also made a number of consequential amendments.
	The variations regime is intended to ensure the Agency offers an accurate and fair service to both the non-resident parent and the parent with care. It allows for variations to the amount of maintenance due based on extraordinary factors not covered by the standard formula. The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 broadened the scope of the Agency's ability to ensure non-resident parents meet their financial responsibilities, and are not penalised for unavoidable increased living costs.
	No specific assessment of the impact of the changes made by the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 has been conducted.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money private agencies have collected on behalf of the Child Support Agency since private companies were first used; and how fees for successful collection are determined.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive.
	He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 18 May 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money private agencies have collected on behalf of the Child Support Agency since private companies were first used; and how fees for successful collection are determined.
	The Agency singed contracts with two debt collection agencies on 7(th) July 2006 and started referring cases to these agencies in August 2006. As of the 31(st) January 2007 a total of £738,000 had been collected by the debt collection agencies.
	A letter sent by the Agency to inform clients that their debt is to be transferred to the external debt collection agencies had also resulted in an additional £640,000 collected by the Agency by the end of January 2007.
	Debt collection agencies are paid a commission by the Agency based on the amount of child maintenance that is collected on our behalf. The commission rate is calculated on a four-point scale, based on the complexity of the debt that is being pursued.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departments: Information and Communications Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was of the five largest information technology contracts agreed by his Department with outside suppliers over the last five years, as referred to in the answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 233-4W, on information technology.

James Purnell: The information in the following table updates the estimated outturn for the IT contracts listed in my previous answer.
	
		
			  Contract  Supplier  Contract estimate  (£ million)  Previously reported contract outturn estimate  (£ million)  Most recently estimated contract outturn estimate  (£ million) 
			 Accord/Standard services business allocation (SSBA) EDS 3433.5 2396.8 2,535.3 
			 Accord/Integrated Communications and Network Services (ICONS) BT 1411.3 870.0 942.3 
			 Pensions transformation project Accenture 181.3 122.0 165.1 
			 Benefits processing replacement programme/Working age transformation and change programme IBM 123.4 79.7 49.8 
			 Central payment system Siemens 59.6 59.6 59.6

Departments: Sovereign Strategy

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Department held with Sovereign Strategy in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Anne McGuire: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Departments: Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone helplines are sponsored by his Department with the prefix  (a) 0870 and  (b) 0845; and whether alternative geographic numbers are available in each case.

Anne McGuire: Under arrangements with our telephone supplier, DWP has  (a) 22 specific 0870 numbers and  (b) 2029 specific 0845 numbers, used for a variety of purposes. The Department delegates the administration and management of non-geographic telephone numbers to local management at operational level. The services linked to individual telephone numbers broken down to helplines is not available, nor the availability of alternative geographic numbers.

Departments: Wales

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the cost was of staff relocations between his Department's offices in Wales in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which staff relocations between his Department's offices in Wales took place in each year since 2000; how many staff were involved in each such relocation; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Neither Jobcentre Plus or DWP hold detailed records of approved Public Expense moves within the Department's offices in Wales. Any detailed investigation to retrieve this information would involve disproportionate costs.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Sifam Limited Retirement Plan is one of the pension schemes to be included in the extension of the Financial Assistance Scheme to solvent employers.

James Purnell: holding answer 10 May 2007
	At present the Sifam Limited Retirement Plan does not qualify for the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) as we understand that the sponsoring employer has not undergone an insolvency event. We currently do not have sufficient information to establish whether the scheme will be included in the recently announced extension to include pension schemes with compromise agreements. The FAS Operational Unit wrote to the trustee on 4 May explaining the position and stating that it may be necessary for the scheme to re-apply once changes to Scheme Qualifying Rules have been finalised.

Industrial Health and Safety

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been reported to him by the Health and Safety Commission in meeting targets for the reduction of deaths and injuries at work; what the most recent figure is for  (a) fatal and  (b) non-fatal injuries at work in the United Kingdom; and what the European Union average rates are.

Anne McGuire: The Revitalising Health and Safety target for injury which applies to Great Britain is to reduce the incidence rate of fatal and major injury by 10 per cent. between 1999-2000 and 2009-10; the pro-rata target for 2005-06 is a 6 per cent. reduction. The available sources indicate no clear change since the base year in the rate of fatal and major injury to employees. Since 2000, HSE has concentrated on key priority areas in partnership with industry and others. This has resulted in significant improvements in, for example, falls from height where the number of injuries has reduced. This activity has begun to show through to the overall fatal and major injuries rate.
	The Health and Safety Executive has a public service agreement (PSA) target to reduce injuries by 3 per cent. between 2004-05 and 2007-08. In the first year of this agreement, the rate of fatal and major injuries dropped by 6.7 per cent.
	There were 212 fatalities to workers reported for the whole year of 2005-06, 223 for 2004-05, and 236 in 2003-04. For the first six months of 2006-07, there were 124 fatal injuries to workers.
	There were 28,605 major injuries reported for employees in 2005-06, compared with 30,451 in 2004-05, and 30,689 in 2003-04. For 2005-06, there were also 117,471 other injuries to employees reported causing an absence of over three days.
	In 2003 (the most recent year for which data are available across the European Union) the average rate of work-related fatal injury in the European Union, excluding transport accidents, is 2.5 per 100,000 workers. The British rate is 1.1—the lowest across the EU.
	EUROSTAT has estimated that there were 3.5 million over three day injuries in the EU, allowing for under-reporting. This translates into a non-fatal rate of 3,334 per 100,000 workers. The British rate is 1,614. The British rate of workplace non-fatal injury in 2003 is the fourth lowest among EU member states.

Industrial Health and Safety: Construction

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the rate of  (a) fatal,  (b) major and  (c) three day injuries to employees in the construction industry in the UK was in (i) 2006 and (ii) the first quarter of 2007.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	The following rates of injury to employees in the construction industry relate to published injury numbers for the provisional year 2005-06 and the first six months of 2006-07.
	
		
			  Rates of injury to employees in the construction industry, as reported to all enforcing authorities 
			   Fatal injuries  Non-fatal major injuries  Over three day injuries  All reported injuries 
			 2005-06(1) 3.5 310.2 632.1 945.8 
			 2006-07(2) 3.8 n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Provisional. (2) Represents a crude annualised rate for the first six months of 2006-07, as it does not take account of any adjustments due to seasonal variation.

Mediation: Pilot Schemes

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the therapeutic mediation pilot being carried out for his Department by Relate will be completed; when he will publish results of the pilot; what criteria are being used to evaluate the pilot; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 29 March 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Relate therapeutic mediation pilot will continue until June 2008.
	The University of East London has been commissioned to evaluate the pilot. We expect the evaluation report to be produced and published by spring 2008. The evaluation will include the effectiveness of the training offered by Relate, and of the mediation model in preventing homelessness and resolving family conflict.

Pension Credit: Rotherham

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Rotherham are in receipt of pensioners' credit.

James Purnell: holding answer 16 May 2007
	 As at February 2007 4,900 households in Rotherham constituency were receiving pension credit.
	 Notes:
	1. The figure provided is an early estimate. The preferred data source for figures supplied by DWP is the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). However, the figure provided is the latest available figure, which is taken from the GMS scan at 2 March 2007. These are adjusted using the historical relationship between WPLS and GMS data to give an estimate of the final WPLS figure.
	2. Case loads are rounded to the nearest 10.
	3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory and are therefore based on the 2005 parliamentary boundaries.
	4. Households are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
	 Source:
	DWP 100 per cent. data from the Generalised Matching Service (GMS) pension credit scan taken as at 2 March 2007.

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average weekly amount of benefit was for a  (a) single pensioner,  (b) married pensioner,  (c) single person under pensionable age,  (d) married couple under pensionable age and  (e) married couple with children (i) in 1997 and (ii) at the latest available date.

James Purnell: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Average (mean) weekly benefit payments to claimants in Great Britain 
			  £ 
			   1997-98  2005-06 
			 Single pensioner 96 145 
			 Married pensioner couple 134 192 
			 Single non-pensioner 94 110 
			 Married non-pensioner couple 53 61 
			 Married non-pensioner couple with children 41 48 
			  Notes: 1.Data for 1997-98 were collected between April 1997 and March 1998 and data for 2005-06 were collected between April 2005 and March 2006. 2.The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is a nationally representative sample of approximately 28,000 households. 3.Pensioner couple is defined as a couple where the head of the benefit unit is over pension age, defined as 60 for women and 65 for men. 4.Married couples include Civil Partnerships in 2005-06. 5.The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the FRS to Government Office Region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error. 6.Figures are mean-averages of weekly benefits received by claimants only (i.e. excluding non-claimants) and have been rounded to the nearest 1. Figures for couples are average weekly benefit amounts per couple. 7.Figures for weekly benefits include both income-related and non-income related benefits but exclude tax credits.  Source: Family Resources Survey: Great Britain 1997-98 and 2005-06.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Prisons: Drugs

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions during the past 12 months a passive drug dog was not present during visiting times at each Northern Ireland prison establishment to carry out searches for prohibited substances.

Paul Goggins: The number of occasions that the prison drugs dog was not deployed by prison establishments over the past 12 months is:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Maghaberry 0 
			 Magilligan 42 
			 HydebankWood 12 
		
	
	The Northern Ireland Prison Service endeavours to have a passive drug dog operational during all visiting sessions, though due to various factors this is not always possible.

Prisons: Drugs

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service were  (a) disciplined,  (b) suspended and  (c) dismissed for supplying drugs or other prohibited items to prisoners in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: None. However, the Northern Ireland Prison Service takes steps to prevent such activities, and has rigorous arrangements in place to investigate any instances it is suspected any inappropriate activities have occurred.

Prisons: Religious Practice

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many chaplains of each religious affiliation are linked to each prison establishment in Northern Ireland; and how many visits chaplains made to Northern Ireland's prisons in each of the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service does not record the number of visits made. Each chaplain is allocated a set number of hours (commensurable with the number of prisoners) within each prison establishment. Chaplains spent 13,704 hours in Northern Ireland's prisons last year.
	The number and location of the chaplains linked to each prison establishment in Northern Ireland is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Establishment  Roman Catholic Chaplains  Church of Ireland Chaplains  Methodist Chaplains  Presbyterian Chaplains  Free Presbyterian Chaplains 
			 Maghaberry 2 2 2 (1)0 1 
			 Magilligan 1 1 I 1 1 
			 Hydebank Wood 2 1 1 1 1 
			 (1) A Presbyterian chaplain has recently been recruited 
		
	
	In addition, arrangements have been made for an Imam to make regular prison visits and more recently, we have contacted a Polish Priest to arrange a visit.
	The Northern Ireland Prison Service are currently in discussion with the churches on recommendations from an internal review of the structure of the Northern Ireland Prison Chaplaincy Service; this will conclude on 12 June. The review addresses current and future management arrangements and the resources required to meet the diverse needs of the growing prisoner population in line with best practice elsewhere.

TRANSPORT

Biofuels: Subsidies

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent  (a) in the UK and  (b) in the EU on subsidies for biofuels in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: These totals are not available in the form requested.
	However, the UK Government's support for biofuels has, to date, come mainly in the form of fuel duty incentives. A 20p per litre fuel duty incentive was introduced for biodiesel in 2002 and for bioethanol in 2005. Detailed information on the level of biofuel sales that these duty incentives have supported in each year since 2002 is available via the HM Customs and Revenue website at www.uktradeinfo.com/index. cfm?task=bulloil The figures in the following table set out the total amount of duty that has been foregone on biofuel sales because of these incentives.
	
		
			   Cost of 20p per litre incentive (£ million) 
			 Pre-2002 0 
			 2002 0.6 
			 2003 3.8 
			 2004 4.2 
			 2005 23.6 
			 2006 52.8 
		
	
	Other forms of Government support for biofuels (including, for example, support for research and development programmes) are summarised in a series of annual UK reports to the European Commission, available on the Commission website at http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/biofuels_members _states_en.htm This website also contains summary details of the support for biofuels provided by other member states and by the Commission.

Cars: Excise Duties

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars registered to owners in Worcestershire will have to pay the new Band G (£300) per annum tax.

Stephen Ladyman: As at 31 December 2006 1,507 vehicles registered to addresses in Worcestershire were licensed in the new band G. In addition there were 12,935 vehicles which, although licensed in band F now, would have fallen into the band G emission category had they been registered after 23 March 2006.

Railways: Birmingham

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what progress has been made in easing train congestion problems at Birmingham New Street Station;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on train platforming at Birmingham New Street Station for Arriva Trains Wales services.

Tom Harris: Responsibility for the performance of the railway network and best use of capacity rests with Network Rail in conjunction with train operators. The High Level Output Specification (HLOS), to be published in the summer, will set out the additional rail capacity the Government propose to buy to meet the recent and forecast growth in demand for rail travel.

Railways: EC Action

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of implementing the European Rail Traffic Management System.

Tom Harris: The Strategic Rail Authority made an extensive study of the effects of ERTMS on the UK railway. Network Rail now leads the National ERTMS Programme and has updated the SRA's work. If applied when a line is being resignalled, ERTMS can reduce the overall cost of the railway and support capacity enhancement. ERTMS also produces a small safety improvement over and above the high level of train protection afforded by TPWS. However, the capacity and cost benefits only apply if ERTMS Level 2 is used to eliminate lineside signalling. The Cambrian Early Deployment Scheme will demonstrate the use of this technology in the UK for the first time.

Roads: Tolls

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what representations he has received on potential links between road pricing and applications for transport infrastructure funds by  (a) local authorities and  (b) Transport for London; and if he will make a statement; [R]
	(2)  if he will make a statement on progress with the 10 road pricing pilot areas; [R]
	(3)  if he will make it his policy not to link applications for projects under transport infrastructure funds to road pricing schemes. [R]

Stephen Ladyman: Ministers have met representatives of local transport authorities and Transport for London and departmental officials have regular ongoing contact.
	No decisions have been taken on areas to take forward local road pricing. 10 areas have been awarded pump-priming funding to support the development of Transport Innovation Fund packages that address local congestion problems. The guidance we have issued has made clear that TIF will be used to support packages that combine investment in transport with demand management measures, such as road pricing. These packages will need to address problems in a way that supports economic growth, and supports other objectives for environmental protection, safety and social inclusion. We expect to receive the first bids for TIP support this summer.
	However, TIP is additional to other transport investment. We are continuing to invest record sums in local transport for all local authorities in England. Funding for transport infrastructure in the English regions outside of London can still be accessed through the Regional Funding Allocation process.

South West Trains: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether South West Trains has met all of its performance targets in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: Targets for SWT were introduced in the 2003 refranchising process.
	Performance targets and the Moving Annual Average (MAA) that SWT achieved for the years that they had targets are shown as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Target (MAA)  Actual (MAA) 
			 2004 77 75.8 
			 2005 80 88.1 
			 2006 81 90.4 
		
	
	The Stagecoach South Western Franchise that commenced in February 2007 has performance benchmarks on a period by period basis and to date these have been met.

Traffic Lights

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1677W, on traffic lights, what progress is being made in the introduction of traffic responsive operation of traffic signals.

Gillian Merron: It is for local traffic authorities to decide on the optimum mode of operation for traffic signals. Traffic responsive systems have been available and encouraged by the Department since the 1930s. The Department's advice contained in Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/06, "General principles of traffic control by light systems", re-iterates and endorses their use. I have arranged for copies of the Traffic Advisory Leaflet to be placed in the Library.

JUSTICE

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Indra electronic counting system used in the electoral pilot of May 2007 by Bedford borough council; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The independent Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate and report on each of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes, and will assess the effectiveness of the electronic counting system used by Bedford borough council. My Department awaits the Electoral Commission's findings which will be published by 4 August 2007.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of  (a) advance voting during the week before polling day,  (b) voters providing their signature before being issued with their ballot papers,  (c) electronic counting and  (d) use of a single column on the ballot paper for the mayoralty election in the electoral pilots of May 2007 by Bedford borough council; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The independent Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate and report on each of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes, including the effectiveness of each of the elements of the Bedford borough council pilot scheme. My Department awaits the Electoral Commission's findings which will be published by 4 August 2007.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received from the Electoral Commission on the use of electronic vote counting technology and equipment for the May 2007 electoral pilots; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: My Department sought the Electoral Commission's views on all of the applications that were made to conduct electoral pilot schemes at the May 2007 local elections, including the use of electronic vote counting technology. The Commission's comments were received on 1 December 2006.
	A number of issues were raised by the Commission which were resolved following ongoing discussions with my officials.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what independent safeguards were put in place for electoral pilots in May 2007 using electronic counting technology and equipment; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: My Department carried out a rigorous procurement process to identify suppliers to work with local authorities to conduct electoral pilot schemes at the May 2007 local elections in England. Each pilot scheme involving the use of electronic voting or counting systems was also subject to a rigorous quality assurance assessment by independent experts on behalf of my Department, and also to testing by suppliers and local authorities prior to use.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what steps the Government are taking to ensure public confidence in electronic vote counting technology and equipment in elections; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: My Department is implementing a programme of work to develop effective and secure electoral systems for the future, including electronic vote counting technology. The programme includes the piloting and evaluation of new technologies, and research and development activities with suppliers, electoral administrators and other organisations. Public confidence in electoral systems is essential, and no new technologies will be rolled out for general use until we are satisfied that they are accurate and secure.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice at what time the final election result was declared in  (a) Bedford borough council,  (b) Breckland district council,  (c) Dover district council,  (d) Stratford-on-Avon district council and  (e) Warwick district council in the electoral pilot schemes of May 2007; how much was spent on the use of electronic counting and equipment in each area; how many spoilt ballot papers were rejected as a percentage of the total vote in each area; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The times of the declaration of the final election results and the percentages of ballot papers rejected in each of the five electoral pilot schemes in May 2007 are listed in the following table.
	
		
			  Authority  Time of declaration  Percentage of rejected ballot papers 
			 Bedford borough council 5 May at 1.38am 1.3 
			 Breckland council 8 May at 8pm 1.1 
			 Dover district council 4 May at 4.15am 0.56 
			 Stratford-on-Avon district council 4 May at 12.30pm 1.34 
			 Warwick district council 8 May at 5.45pm 0.67 
		
	
	It is expected that the details of the total costs for the electoral pilot schemes using electronic counting in May 2007 will be provided in the independent Electoral Commission's statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes, which will be published by 4 August 2007.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many electoral pilots in May 2007 which used electronic counting technology and equipment reverted to manual counting of votes; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Two electoral pilots reverted to manual counting of votes. These were Breckland council, and the joint pilot by Stratford-on-Avon district council and Warwick district council. The Electoral Commission is currently evaluating each electoral pilot scheme, and their findings will provide valuable information about the issues that arose in these authorities and will also help us to identify how to address any future issues.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received on the use of random hand counts of ballots in electoral pilots of May 2007 which used electronic counting and equipment; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: My Department has not received any representations on the use of random hand counts of ballots at the electoral pilot schemes which used electronic counting in May 2007.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what measures were put in place to ensure that electoral pilots using electronic counting and equipment in May 2007 could be independently verified; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: My Department commissioned independent quality assurance audit and testing to support the delivery of electoral pilot schemes using electronic counting at the May 2007 local elections. Under provisions introduced by the Electoral Administration Act 2006, independent observers were also permitted to monitor all elections, including those where electoral pilot schemes were held.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many of the electoral pilots of May 2007 which used electronic counting and equipment undertook random hand counts of ballots; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: I am not aware that any of the electoral pilot schemes of May 2007 which used electronic counting undertook random hand counts of ballot papers.

Elections

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what plans the Government have to use electronic counting and equipment in future electoral pilots; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: My Department is currently considering the future role of electronic counting technology, and how it might be developed through further piloting or other research. The findings of the independent Electoral Commission's statutory evaluation of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes will inform that ongoing consideration before any decisions about future pilot schemes are made.

Electoral Systems

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1725W, on electoral systems, when the review of electoral systems currently in use in the United Kingdom began; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The review under way in the Ministry of Justice commenced after the May 2005 elections. It is anticipated that the review will be completed within the lifetime of this Parliament. Ministers will take decisions on any next steps, if necessary, after the review is completed.

Ministry of Justice

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will list the dates of the meetings of the working group set up by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice on 19 March 2007 to consider the implications of the creation of the Ministry of Justice.

Bridget Prentice: The working group has met regularly since it was set up on 19 March 2007. Its discussions are ongoing.

Prisons: Construction

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice 
	(1)  how many prison places she plans to bring into use from  (a) refurbishment,  (b) new build on existing sites and  (c) new build on sites that do not currently house a prison in each of the next five years;
	(2)  what funds have been allocated for capital works on the prison estate on  (a) refurbishment,  (b) new build on existing sites and  (c) new build on sites that do not currently house a prison in each of the next four years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: NOMS undertakes a rolling programme of refurbishment on the prison estate. As schemes come back into use following refurbishment, other schemes are taken forward and the accommodation is taken out of use.
	Of the 8,000 new prison places announced by the Home Secretary in July 2006, approximately half will be on sites not currently occupied by prisons. The programme is still in the planning stages and the number of places to be provided beyond 2007 has not been finalised. However, this year the capacity of the prison estate will increase in total by around 2,200 places. This includes 700 places from the 8,000 programme and the remainder from already planned expansions. All of the new places this year will be provided at existing prison sites.
	The estimated total capital cost of the new 8,000 places is around £1.5 billion. The breakdown of costs in each of the next five years has not yet been finalised.

Voting Rights: Prisoners

Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what arrangements are in place to allow people held on remand to vote; and how many people on remand voted in the  (a) recent elections for the (i) National Assembly for Wales and (ii) Scottish Parliament and  (b) local elections in (A) England, (B) Scotland and (c) the last general election.

Bridget Prentice: The Representation of the People Act 2000 made it possible for prisoners on remand, who are otherwise eligible to vote, to register to vote from their place of detention. Such persons are able to vote via post or by proxy.
	The information on the number of remand prisoners who voted at the elections is not available. HM Prison Service keeps a record of the total number of remand prisoners, although no information is kept on those registered to vote. Records are not kept of whether particular categories of voters have exercised their right to vote at UK elections.

TREASURY

Departments: Telecommunications

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on telecommunication costs in each year since 1997.

John Healey: Information on telecommunication costs (including IT networking costs) for the Chancellor's departments and agencies in each year since 1997 is given in the table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 HMT (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 1,592,000 1,416,000 1,796,000 1,558,000 
			 DMO (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 85,000 141,000 142,000 121,000 
			 OGC (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 465,000 691,000 734,000 840,000 1,132,000 
			 VOA (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 1,606,000 2,110,000 1,643,000 1,766,000 1,658,000 
			 HMRC (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 22.5 million 28.1 million 30.7 million 30.1 million (2)19.2 million 
			 Royal Mint 126,000 151,000 134,000 176,000 149,000 162,000 183,000 (3)240,000 113,000 
			 NS&I (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 ONS (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 441,000 552,000 808,000 968,000 1093,000 
			 GAD   38,000 36,000 36,000 36,000 38,000 40,000 43,000 
			 (1) Figures could only be provided at disproportionate cost. (2) The decrease in charges for HMRC in 2005-06 reflects the transfer of responsibility for maintenance and service of the telephone system to the Department's IT partner and it is not possible to disaggregate this element from their charges. For ONS, the increase in 2005- 06 is due mainly to implementation of a secure dial in service (RAS) for laptop users. (3) The high fixed line charge for the Royal Mint in 2004-05 related to a settlement in respect of 0845 numbers which had not been charged by BT over the previous three years. The reduction in 2005-06 was due in part to the more competitive marketplace and in part to more efficient use of the charging system by the Mint. 
		
	
	Audited information for 2006-07 will be available by July 2007.

Political Parties: Finance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what part  (a) he and  (b) departmental representatives are playing in the inter-party talks on the funding of political parties chaired by Sir Hayden Phillips.

John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer does not have a role in the inter-party talks.

Social Security Benefits: EC Nationals

Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many migrant workers from other European Economic Area (EEA) countries receive benefits from the UK for dependents living in other EEA countries; and what the total cost was of such benefits in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: In respect of tax credits and child benefit, the information requested is not available.

Welfare Tax Credits: Administration

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the administration of tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers have received a number of representations on various aspects of the administration of the tax credits system. In particular the Government have responded to the sixth report of the Treasury Committee, session 2005-06, on the administration of tax credits, on 8 November 2006 and I refer the hon. Member to the debate on that report on 15 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 141-84WH. In addition, Treasury Ministers regularly report to the House on the operation of tax credits.

Welfare Tax Credits: Personal Data

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals claiming tax credits have been notified that details of their bank account and sort code have been sent to another client.

Stephen Timms: HMRC are aware that a number of incorrect tax credit award notices have been sent out, including some containing partial information about another claimant's tax credit claim. This was caused by an isolated problem with one of the printers. HMRC take confidentiality very seriously and have robust procedures in place to protect information provided by claimants. As soon as they became aware of the incident, they corrected the problem with the printer and have taken steps to ensure there can be no recurrence. HMRC established that the incident affected around 42,000 families. In particular, 8,000 notices were sent out which contained some bank account details for a claimant other than the recipient.
	HMRC's immediate priority was to protect claimants' personal data and to ensure the correct information was provided to tax credit claimants. HMRC wrote to all claimants affected to apologise for this mistake; to provide the correct tax credit award notice; to advise them of the action that HMRC has taken to protect affected claimants; and to provide information on what further steps claimants may wish to take in response to this incident.
	As a precautionary measure HMRC immediately alerted the banking industry who issued a general alert to the banks. HMRC also provided the information necessary for the banks of affected claimants to put the appropriate safeguards in place. HMRC also informed the Information Commissioner. HMRC's current safeguards should prevent any fraudulent tax credits claims based on the information released.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Iraq

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqis  (a) were granted and  (b) applied for asylum in the UK in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of applications received and initial decisions made for nationals of Iraq since 2003 are shown in the attached table.
	Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
	Information on asylum applications and initial decisions for Iraqi nationals are published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Asylum applications( 1)  received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions( 2 ) on applications, 2003-06, nationals of Iraq 
			  Principal applicants 
			  Iraq  Total Applications  Total decisions  Grants of asylum  Grants of ELR  Grants of HP( 3)  Grants of DL( 3)  Total refusals 
			 2003 4,015 6,805 70 2,105 * 45 4,580 
			 2004 1,695 4,815 10 n/a — 185 4,615 
			 2005(4) 1,415 1,835 5 n/a 10 150 1,675 
			 2006(4) 950 730 30 n/a — 60 640 
			 n/a = not applicable.  (1) Figures rounded to nearest 5, with '*' = 1 or 2.  (2) Information is of initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.  (3) Humanitarian protection and discretionary leave replaced exceptional leave to remain from 1 April 2003.  (4) Provisional figures   Source:  Immigration Research and Statistics Service, RDS.

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department each year since 2001-02; and how many civil servants received bonuses in each year.

Liam Byrne: Where it is available, the information requested is recorded in the following table.
	
		
			   Amount paid (£)  Number paid  Total staff (headcount) 
			 2002-03 2,067,878 3,388 18,190 
			 2003-04 2,919,953 4,082 20,994 
			 2004-05 3,459,397 4,710 24,081 
			 2005-06 3,612,916 5,014 25,343 
		
	
	Within the Home Office and its agencies there are separate arrangements for awarding bonuses. Staff may receive annual, appraisal-related awards based on their exceptional contribution throughout the year, or special bonuses for exceptional, specific work. Senior civil servants can be awarded bonuses as set out in the Senior Salaries Review Body report number 62.
	 Notes:
	1. Comprehensive data for 2001-02 are not available or can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	2. The data for appraisal-related bonus payments are included only for Home Office HQ and Border and Immigration Agency (BIA). The data for the public sector Prison Service are excluded as they can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Identity and Passport Agency (IPS) does not run an appraisal-related bonus scheme.
	3. Data for special bonus payments are included only for the senior civil service (for the whole Department and its agencies) and IPS for 2004-05 and 2005-06 for certain bonuses where information is available
	4. Data recorded for performance appraisal payments relate to the previous reporting year and not the financial year in which the bonuses themselves were paid.
	5. Staffing data are for those in Home Office HQ and BIA and all senior civil servants in the Department and its agencies. For 2004-05 and 2005-06 IPS staff are included.

Crime Prevention

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to reduce fear of crime amongst the elderly.

Vernon Coaker: Fear of crime is at historically low levels but we are not complacent and acknowledge that older people continue to have a high level of fear of crime despite the relatively low risk of them becoming victims of crime.
	Previous work to lower this level of fear amongst older people has focused on addressing the misperceptions about crime by promoting the facts about crime levels, and encouraging common-sense precautions which individuals can take to prevent becoming a victim. This has been achieved by working with charities such as Help the Aged and Age Concern to find new and better ways of tackling fear among the older population, as well as tackling the crimes committed against them.
	In addition, we are working to improve public confidence and, in turn, fear of crime. The roll out of neighbourhood policing will impact significantly on confidence in the police. Greater community engagement, more visible policing in communities and increased local accountability of crime and disorder reduction partnerships will all aid the reduction of fear of crime amongst the elderly.

Crime: Surveys

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on researching, producing, distributing and publicising the British Crime Survey in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06 and  (c) 2006-07; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much his Department spent on researching, producing, distributing and publicising the annual and quarterly version of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Crime in England and Wales in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06 and  (c) 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer s 14 May 2007
	Following competitive tender, the Home Office commissioned an external survey research company to carry out the British Crime Survey on its behalf. The cost of this contract in each of the years asked about was  (a) £4.5 million in 2004-05,  (b) £4.6 million in 2005-06 and  (c) £4.8 million in 2006-07.
	The print and distribution costs of the annual and quarterly version of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Crime in England and Wales, was £19,000 in 2004-05; £19,000 in 2005-06; and, £14,000 in 2006-07. The cost of print and distribution has reduced as accessing Home Office statistics on-line has become more popular.

Departments: Disciplinary Proceedings

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many grievance procedures have been initiated in his Department in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: For Core Home Office (excluding the Public Sector Prison Service) including Border and Immigration Agency, Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service, the number of grievances raised from 27 April 2006 to 27 April 2007 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of grievances 
			 Core Home Office 7 
			 Border and Immigration Agency 70 
			 Criminal Records Bureau — 
			 Identity and Passport Service 12 
		
	
	For Core Home Office and Border and Immigration Agency: Since 1 January 2005 people management has been devolved to a local line management level, including decisions on grievances, and therefore the figures supplied are those that have been reported to HR by line managers and recorded centrally.
	Border and Immigration Agency figures do not include any new grievances lodged after 25 April 2007.
	Information for the Criminal Records Bureau is not provided on grounds of confidentiality as there have been fewer than five grievance procedures initiated.
	The Public Sector Prison Service does not hold the information centrally in the format requested, and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Bullying

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of bullying have been investigated in his Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld.

Liam Byrne: For Core Home Office (excluding Public Sector Prison Service, Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service) and Border and Immigration Agency, the number of complaints investigated and upheld during the 12 month period to 27 April 2007 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Department  Number of complaints upheld  Number of complaints not upheld 
			 Core Home Office 1 (upheld in part) 0 
			 Border and Immigration Agency 4 (includes 3 upheld in part) 11 
		
	
	Since January 2005 for staff in Core Home Office and Border and Immigration Agency people management has been devolved to a local line management level, with units either commissioning the investigation using HR staff or non HR staff who are specifically trained to carry these types of investigations. Line managers are only required to inform HR at the conclusion of the process, and therefore the figures supplied are those that have been reported to HR by line managers, and recorded centrally.
	Border and Immigration Agency figures do not include any new complaints lodged after 25 April 2007.
	Information for Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service is not provided on grounds of confidentiality as there were fewer than five complaints investigated. The Public Sector Prison Service does not hold the information centrally in the format requested. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department.

Liam Byrne: The Department has a written policy on the provision of official hospitality in the form of food, drink and entertainment to non-civil servants which is available to all staff on the departmental intranet and which all staff are expected to comply with as part of their terms and conditions of service. The policy complies with the Treasury Handbook on Regularity and Propriety and the principles of Government accounting and allows for a modest amount of alcohol to be provided at lunches or dinners, at the discretion of senior management, as long as the overall cost of the lunch or dinner falls within the stated expenditure ranges.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on hospitality by his Department in 2006-07.

Liam Byrne: Home Office expenditure on official hospitality and entertainment conforms to departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, which complies with the principles of Government accounting and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity and Propriety. Hospitality is defined as the provision of food, drink and entertainment of non-civil servants where it is beneficial to the interests of the Department.
	The spend for 2006-07 based on draft accounts is £94,044.
	This figure covers hospitality provided by both civil servants and Ministers.

Departments: Sexual Harassment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of sexual harassment have been investigated in his Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld.

Liam Byrne: For Core Home Office (excluding Public Sector Prison Service), Border and Immigration Agency, Identity and Passport Service, Criminal Records Bureau, in the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, seven complaints of sexual harassment were investigated. Of these, two were upheld, three were upheld in part and two were not upheld. As there were fewer than five complaints of sexual harassment in each of Core Home Office, (excluding Public Sector Prison Service), Border and Immigration Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau, a further breakdown is not provided on grounds of confidentiality.
	Since 1 January 2005, for staff working in Core Home Office and Border and Immigration Agency, people management has been devolved to a local line management level, with units either commissioning the investigation into complaints of harassment using HR staff or non HR staff who are specifically trained to conduct these types of investigation. Line managers are only required to inform HR at the conclusion of the process, and therefore the figures supplied are those that have been reported to HR by line managers, and recorded centrally.
	The Public Sector Prison Service does not have systems in place that hold centrally validated information in respect of complaints of sexual harassment and such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Extradition: Libya

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what agreements exist between the UK and Libya on the  (a) forced repatriation and  (b) extradition of nationals.

Liam Byrne: Most removals to Libya under Immigration Act powers are undertaken on the basis of international conventions and practice, rather than bilateral arrangements. A Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries concerning the provision of assurances in respect of persons subject to deportation was signed on 18 October 2005.
	There are no general extradition arrangements between the two countries. The UK and Libya, however, are parties to various international conventions under which extradition in respect of certain specific offences may be possible. The Extradition Act 2003 also allows the UK to consider entering into special extradition arrangements in individual cases.

Illegal Immigrants: Fixed Penalties

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices have been issued to illegal workers from  (a) Bulgaria and  (b) Romania since 1 January 2007; and what percentage of those have been paid.

John Reid: As of 29 April, 42 fixed penalty notices have been served, of which 38 on Romanian nationals and four on Bulgarian nationals.
	Almost two thirds of these penalty notices have been paid in full within the 21 day period. A further 11 of them have yet to reach their due payment date.

Immigrants

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the number of irregular migrants  (a) in the UK and  (b) the rest of Europe.

Liam Byrne: As the Home Secretary set out in his evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 23 May 2006, no Government have been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally, and that remains the case.
	The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published estimates for the sizes of the unauthorised migrant population for a selection of other countries in Europe on their website at: http://www.oecd.org. The following table is taken from the 'International Migration Outlook' publication.
	International Migration Outlook—ISBN_92-64-03627-X-©_OECD_2006—Part 1
	
		
			  Table 1.6:  Estimates of the unauthorised immigrant population, selected OECD countries 
			Number  Percentage of total  Method of estimation 
			 2005 Australia 50,000 0.2 Double card system 
			 2005 Japan 210,000 0.2 Double card system 
			 2004 (18) United States 10,300,000 3.6 Residual method 
			 2004 Netherlands 125,000-230,000 0.8-1.4 Capture/recapture 
			 2005 Switzerland 80,000-100,000 1.1-1.5 Delphi method 
			 2005 (4) Spain 690,000 1.6 Regularisation 
			 2002 (4) Italy 700,000 1.2 Regularisation 
			 2001 (6) Portugal 185,000 1.8 Regularisation 
			 2001 (3) Greece 370,000 3.4 Regularisation 
			  Note: The number in parentheses indicates the number of years since the previous major regularisation. The regularisation numbers cover only persons applying and thus are a lower bound for the number of unauthorised immigrants.  Sources: Australia, Japan, southern European countries: national SOPEMI reports. United States: Van Hook, Bean and Passel 2005. Netherlands: Snel et al. 2005. Switzerland: GFS 2005.

Immigration: Bulgaria

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings he  (a) has held and  (b) plans to hold with representatives of the Romanian and Bulgarian communities to discuss the operation of the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006.

Liam Byrne: I have personally not met with any representatives of the Bulgarian and Romanian communities to discuss the operation of the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006. Nor has a request been made to do so.
	Officials from the Border and Immigration Agency are in regular contact with officials at the Romanian and Bulgarian embassies in the United Kingdom. They participated in two seminars on the operation of the transitional arrangements in December 2006 and will continue to participate in any future events arranged.

Immigration: Bulgaria

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fines have been issued since 1 January 2007 to  (a) Romanian and  (b) Bulgarian workers found to be working illegally in the UK.

Liam Byrne: As of 29 April, 42 fixed penalty notices have been served; 38 on Romanian nationals and four on Bulgarian nationals.

Immigration: Bulgaria

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers have been fined since 1 January 2007 for employing  (a) Romanian and  (b) Bulgarian workers illegally.

Liam Byrne: As of 29 April, no employers have been prosecuted for employing Romanian and Bulgarian nationals without the correct permission to work in the United Kingdom, as we have been working with employers in other ways to ensure compliance with the Regulations which govern the employment of Romanian and Bulgarian nationals.

Immigration: Bulgaria

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence workers from Romania and Bulgaria are required to produce to demonstrate their self-employed status under the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006.

Liam Byrne: Bulgarian and Romanian nationals engaged in self-employed activities are subject to the same regulatory regime as a UK national engaged in such an activity. The same level of evidence is required as would be necessary for a UK national to establish that activity undertaken is genuine self-employment.
	Nationals from the two states in question are not required to carry at all times documentation confirming their status in the United Kingdom. A worker's employment status for tax and National Insurance purposes is determined by the terms and conditions under which they work and is based on case law. Should they be questioned regarding their activities by an Immigration official conducting an illegal working investigation, that official will seek to establish if the activity being undertaken is genuine self-employment. It is the responsibility of both the worker and those he purports to provide services for to ensure that the relationship is one of genuine self-employment, and not an attempt to mask an employer-employee relationship.

Intelligence Services: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the adequacy of surveillance resources and expertise available to work on counter-terrorism; and whether the new MI5 Director has requested any additional resources.

Tony McNulty: It would not be appropriate for me to comment in specific detail about the operational capacity of the security and intelligence agencies.

Police: Animals

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police  (a) dogs and  (b) horses (i) were recruited and (ii) were in service in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area;
	(2)  what the total cost is of fully training a police  (a) horse and  (b) dog; and how long it takes in each case;
	(3)  how many and what percentage of police  (a) horses and  (b) dogs (i) retired and (ii) were destroyed in each of the last 10 years;
	(4)  how many animals are employed by the police in England and Wales, broken down by species.

Tony McNulty: The required information is not collected as part of the police service strength data series.

Police: Bicycles

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police bicycles are owned by police forces in England and Wales; and what the cost was of each bicycle.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for the Chief Officer and the police authority.

Police: Complaints

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in England and Wales since the IPCC was established, broken down by police authority area and ranked in descending order of number of complaints.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office does not collect the information requested.

Social Workers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many social workers in England have had a Criminal Records Bureau check.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	The figure for the number of social workers in England who have had a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check is not available.
	All social workers in England must be registered with the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and as part of this registration, must declare details of any criminal record. The accuracy of this information is confirmed by their employer who will have carried out any necessary criminal record checks. Details of these checks, linked to occupation, are not separately recorded by the Department, the GSCC or the CRB.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Disease Control

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department is taking to improve the control of tropical diseases in Africa.

Hilary Benn: Tackling tropical and other communicable diseases in Africa is a UK priority. Through DFID's bilateral programme, the UK supports African countries to develop strong and sustainable health services to address illness, including tropical diseases. For example, in Malawi DFID has committed £100 million to develop and implement the national health plan and increase the number of health workers who can provide basic health care. DFID also supports specific projects to tackle specific diseases, for example the £47.4 million Malaria programme in Kenya will provide long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets.
	The UK also supports global and regional initiatives. For example, DFID:
	contributed £7.6 million to the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control;
	committed £359 million to 2008 to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria and contributed £49 million to the WHO-led initiative, Roll Back Malaria;
	provided £91.9 million (2000-06) to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, a public-private partnership focused on increasing children's access to vaccines in poor countries;
	has committed a further £1.38 billion to the International Financing Facility for Immunization (IFFIm) from 2006-26 to develop vaccines;
	provides funding directly to the World Health Organisation (e.g. $255 million in the 2004-05 biennium), the World Bank and the European Commission in the fight against tropical and communicable diseases;
	finances critical research, including £10 million to the Medicines for Malaria Venture and £6.5 million to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative over the next three years.

Africa: Females

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve the  (a) cultural status and  (b) economic condition of women in sub-Saharan Africa.

Hilary Benn: DFID has engaged in a wide range of project, programme and policy efforts designed to improve the cultural, economic and political situation of women in sub-Saharan Africa.
	The third White Paper on International Development (published July 2006), "Eliminating world poverty: making governance work for the poor", underlined DFID's commitment to give greater priority to work to support gender equality and women's rights in our development assistance, responding to key priorities of African institutions like the African Union (AU) and New partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
	Our gender equality action plan (launched March 2007) sets out how we will meet these commitments. DFID is further strengthening its analysis of gender equality through country governance assessments and through discussions with partner governments and regional institutions such as the AU. This will enable DFID to support efforts on women's empowerment and equality, including the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. DFID will continue to support efforts to increase girls' enrolment in primary school, reduce HIV prevalence among women and girls, reduce maternal mortality, give social protection for the very poorest women and increase employment opportunities.
	Examples of initiatives to address these issues include the following.
	In Sudan, DFID is empowering women in some of the poorest, marginalised communities as they learn to read and write assisted by the literacy and livelihood programme as well as supporting social marketing of mosquito nets, specifically targeting pregnant women and mothers of children under five.
	In Ethiopia DFID is a key contributor to the Government's productive safety nets programme which targets some of the most vulnerable households such as those headed by women.
	In Nigeria DFID has contributed to a girls' education programme improving net enrolment for girls especially in northern Nigeria, by addressing cultural and economic barriers. The security, justice and growth programme, through partnership with the Centre for Islamic Legal Studies, has carried out path-breaking analytical work on women's rights under Sharia law.
	DFID is supporting efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation; this includes the production of a best practice resource for civil society groups to encourage strong and appropriate legislation to protect women and children against this practice.
	We have formed a partnership with the International Finance Cooperation to undertake gender and growth analysis in a number of African countries including Tanzania, Rwanda and Nigeria. This is expected to lead to concrete changes in legislation and new investments.
	DFID is providing support to the World Bank's gender action plan, which has a particular focus on Africa including the launch of new programmes focused on women's economic empowerment.

Concept Notes

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of responses to concept notes submitted to his Department were delayed in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not keep a central record of the response rates achieved under the various funding schemes run across the Department. Information for two of the largest current schemes is as follows:
	 Civil Society Challenge Fund (CSCF)
	UK-based civil society organisations seeking support are required to submit a two-page concept note any time between 1 February and 15 June each year. These concept notes are registered by the Civil Society Team in DFID. An acknowledgment is then sent to the applicant within three days of receipt, and the concept note is passed to our external contracted evaluation team.
	Our guidelines state that any applicant submitting a CSCF concept note can expect a decision within four weeks of our acknowledgement of receipt. Over the past five years, our contractors have been unable to meet this deadline in fewer than 6 per cent. of cases, i.e. for 69 out of 1216 concept notes:
	
		
			   Number of concept notes  Number responded to within deadline  Number delayed  Percentage delayed 
			 2006-07 294 255 39 13 
			 2005-06 292 289 3 1 
			 2004-05 157 155 2 1.3 
			 2003-04 228 217 11 4.8 
			 2002-03 245 221 24 9.8 
			 Total 1216 1147 69 5.7 
		
	
	 Conflict and Humanitarian Fund
	This fund has only been running for three years. Applications may be submitted either for Unearmarked (also known as Programmatic) funding or for Project funding. For Project funding there is a two-stage process under which applicants submit a short concept note and are then informed whether their application has been rejected or shortlisted for further consideration.
	The figures for delays in informing applicants whether their concept notes had been shortlisted are as follows:
	
		
			   Number of concept notes  Number responded to within deadline  Number delayed  Percentage delayed 
			 2007-08 95 8 87 (1)91.6 
			 2006-07 66 66 0 — 
			 2005-06 86 82 4 5 
			 Total 247 156 91 36.8 
			 (1 )The Guidelines said that applicants would be informed by 31 March 2007 whether their concept notes had been shortlisted. Applicants were informed on 16 March 2007 that there would be a delay in letting them know whether their concepts had been short-listed (this delay was caused by bereavement). They were informed whether their proposals had been short-listed by 13 April 2007.

International Assistance: Health

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that G8 Ministers adopt a statement on strengthening health systems in developing countries in their June communiqué.

Gareth Thomas: The Presidency of the G8 has already proposed a statement within the text for the G8 declaration on health system strengthening, and the UK is working to help strengthen it further.

Overseas Aid: Applications

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of responses to full funding applications submitted to his Department were delayed in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not keep a central record of the response rates achieved under the various funding schemes run across the Department. Information for three of the largest current schemes is given as follows.
	 Civil Society Challenge Fund (CSCF) and Development Awareness Fund (DAF):
	In each of the last five years, final decisions about CSCF and DAF proposals have been rescheduled beyond original target dates, as a result of external circumstances and the need to carry out thorough due diligence checks across a wide range of organisations. In all cases, applicants have been kept fully informed about revised timetables and delays have been kept to a minimum (no greater than four weeks and usually significantly less). We inform all applicants of the results of their applications at the same time.
	 Conflict an d Humanitarian Fund:
	This fund has only been running for three years. Applications may be submitted either for Unearmarked (also known as Programmatic) funding or for project funding. There are two different application processes for these. For Unearmarked funding there is a one stage process, under which applicants submit a statement of intent. For project funding there is a two-stage process, under which applicants submit a short concept note. If their application is short-listed they are invited to submit a full project proposal. Figures for delays in informing applicants whether their concepts had been short-listed are provided in the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green today (UIN 135627). The figures for delays in informing applicants of decisions on full project proposals and statements of intent are as follows:
	
		
			   Number   Number responded to within deadline  Number delayed  Percentage delayed 
			  2007-08( 1) — — — — 
			  2006-07 
			 Full project proposals (FPP) 12 0 12 (2)100 
			 Statements of intent (SOI) 31 18 13 41.9 
			  2005-06 
			 Full project proposals (FPP) 13 0 13 (3)100 
			 Statements of intent (SOI) 29 2 27 93.1 
			 Total 85 20 65 76.5 
			 (1 )Deadline for submission of full project proposals was 1 May. Applications currently being assessed. (2 )The indicative time-table in the Guidelines for the 2006 competition said DFID would aim to inform applicants of the final decision on their proposals on 16 June 2006. In the event they were informed on 30 June 2006, except for one application on which there were further issues to resolve. (3 )In the Guidelines for the 2005 competition DFID said they would aim to inform applicants of the outcome of the appraisal process by 15 September 2005. In the event all except six of the applicants were informed of DFID's decision by 24 September 2005.

Overseas Aid: Primary Education

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the increase in enrolment in primary schooling in countries receiving UK aid to help finance abolition of school fees is represented by  (a) children transferring from private and unregulated schools to the state sector and  (b) children who previously received no schooling.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's financing of education plans is largely provided through general and sector budget support and it is not possible to disaggregate our support to show precisely how much has gone towards  (a) children transferring from private and unregulated schools to the state sector and  (b) children who previously received no schooling. Where there have been increases in enrolment as a result of the abolition of school fees, only aggregate data are available, it is not possible to identify where the extra children have come from. The primary source of global data on enrolment of school children is the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The 2007 Report was launched on 26 October and may be accessed via:
	http://www.unesco.org/education/GMR/2007/Full_report.pdf.
	The UK's support to education is provided through bilateral and multilateral channels, including the Education For All Fast Track Initiative. DFID provides bilateral support to partner governments to help them develop and implement their own education sector plans. Particular attention is given to getting children into school through removing school fees, providing equipment, building new schools, as well as through paying teachers adequate salaries and providing professional development opportunities for them.
	Between 2000 and 2005 many countries abolished school fees, including Lesotho (2000), Cambodia (2001), Zambia (2002), Kenya (2003), Mozambique (2004), Vietnam (2004) and Burundi (2005). In Kenya, this led to an additional 1.2 million students entering the school system. In Burundi, almost 500,000 additional primary school pupils arrived to enrol on the first day of school, double the number anticipated. Removing school fees increases enrolment but also makes it necessary to plan for the surge in order to maintain adequate quality.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department expects to make the 2005 single farm payment to Mr Francis, a constituent of the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

Barry Gardiner: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has checked its records and owing to there being several customers with the same surname in the Kent region RPA is unable to identify the Mr. Francis in question. In order to state when this payment will be made RPA will require Mr. Francis' Single Business Identifier (SBI) number.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what contingency planning his Department is undertaking to be able to respond effectively in the event of an outbreak of avian influenza in the UK;
	(2)  what his Department's state of preparedness is for any future outbreak of avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department has robust and tested disease control plans and instructions in place to address an outbreak of avian influenza. These are set out in our Exotic Animal Disease Generic Contingency Plan. The plans and procedures are kept under close review.
	The latest Contingency Plan for Exotic Animal Diseases was laid before Parliament on 13 December 2006. The plan was used effectively and successfully in partnership with operational bodies and interested parties to deal with the recent outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in Suffolk.
	We are also continuing to work with interested parties to learn lessons from that outbreak to ensure we remain fully prepared for any future outbreak. A report will be published in the autumn.

Climate Change

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to communicate to the public  (a) the causes of climate change,  (b) the impact on the United Kingdom and the wider world of climate change and  (c) the possible solutions to climate change.

Ian Pearson: The current "Act on CO2" campaign supports a range of multi media, tools and activities aimed at educating, informing and enabling individuals to think about changing their behaviours and to adopt lower carbon lifestyles to help tackle climate change. Through the Climate Challenge Fund, over 80 local and community-level projects are communicating the causes and impacts of climate change.
	Last year's influential Stern Review on climate change continues to raise awareness, both domestically and globally, of the impacts and costs associated with climate change. DEFRA has supported, and was well represented at, the IPCC meetings ensuring that the messages contained in the summary reports are robust and based on sound science.
	DEFRA funds the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) to advise organisations on how they might be affected by climate change, so that they can adapt to its impacts. Among other activities, UKCIP works with the Met Office Hadley Centre to provide climate change scenarios for the UK (the next of which are due for publication in 2008); provides tools for stakeholders to assess climate risk and plan adaptation strategies; and coordinates research about how climate change will affect the UK at national and regional levels.

Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many times the Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance has met since 8 November 2006;
	(2)  when he expects the Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance to report; and what the reasons are for the delay in reporting.

Ian Pearson: The Commission for Environmental Markets and Economic Performance has met twice since 8 November 2006. The first meeting was on 19 December 2006 and the second on 5 March 2007. A final meeting is planned for 20 June 2007. In addition, Commission members have met informally on a number of occasions during this time, in workshops, meetings and other forums.
	When the Commission was set up, the expectation was that it would report in spring 2007. The majority of its work will have been completed within this timetable, but we now anticipate that the final conclusions of the Commission will be available before the summer Parliamentary recess.
	The main reason for this slight delay has been the challenge of finding convenient dates for meetings in members' busy diaries.

Environment Agency: Prosecutions

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many registered companies were  (a) successfully and  (b) unsuccessfully prosecuted by the Environment Agency in each financial year since 1999; and what the average fine was in cases of successful prosecutions, broken down by (i) region and (ii) category of offence.

Ian Pearson: The information requested is not held centrally. I have asked my officials to gather the information and I will write to the hon. Member with further details in due course and place copies of the letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the total cost to the UK economy of the first phase of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme.

Ian Pearson: An exercise carried out last year, looking at the regulations in force as at May 2005, estimated that the administrative cost to businesses in phase I of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme was around £175,000 for all 511 installations in England and Wales.
	For phase II, the total administrative cost (including Scotland and Northern Ireland) is estimated to be around £125,000. This is lower than in phase I as all installations already have Greenhouse Gas (GHG) permits.
	Further estimates of the costs to the UK of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme are available in the Regulatory impact assessments published by DEFRA. Copies of these are available in the Library of the House.
	A tiered approach to subsistence charges and permit application fees has been adopted, where the charges reflect the scale of emissions from the installation. This is consistent with cost-reflectivity principles.
	Following lessons learnt from phase I of the scheme, the Government have introduced a de minimis threshold and revised the interpretation of the definition of a ceramics site. 10 per cent. of installations have been removed from phase II of the scheme covering less than 0.3 per cent. of scheme emissions. The revision of the ceramics definition is expected to remove around 30 installations, representing 0.08 per cent. of total emissions within the scheme.
	The Environment Agency commissioned a study that looked at the cost of compliance in the EU ETS. It found that in the first year of the scheme the costs for smaller emitters (emitting less than 10KtCO2 a year) were between £1.08 and £2.77 per tonne of CO2.
	It is difficult to get an accurate picture of the actual cost of compliance as Government do not have access to the prices businesses pay for allowances. The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) for phase II of the scheme estimates that the cost of the scheme to the UK economy could be between £80 million and £640 million per year. This cost assumes a certain level of abatement will take place within the UK and also that the UK will purchase some allowances from the market. The final cost will therefore depend on the market price of carbon.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of UK businesses that have decided to migrate from participation in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme following changes made to the 'de minimis' threshold of the scheme between its first phase and its second phase.

Ian Pearson: A voluntary 'de minimis' threshold was introduced for Phase II of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) due to the disproportionate burden placed on some installations by participation in the scheme.
	94 installations successfully applied to the 'de minimis' threshold and these will be excluded from Phase II. This has led to the removal of 10 per cent. of installations from the scheme, covering less than 0.3 per cent. of scheme emissions. Emissions at these installations are likely to be covered by the proposed Energy Performance Commitment or by Climate Change Agreements.

European Environment Council of Ministers

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he expects to be accompanied by the Environment Ministers from the  (a) Scottish Executive,  (b) Welsh Assembly Government and  (c) Northern Ireland Executive at the informal meeting of the European Environment Council of Ministers on 1 June.

Ian Pearson: No.

Fuel Oil: Storage

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will undertake a review of the environmental sustainability of the practice of locating sealed fuel oil tanks beneath domestic residences; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The need for environmental protection should be taken into account when locating fuel tanks and associated pipe-work underground. In 2002, DEFRA produced a groundwater protection code of practice for underground fuel dispensing facilities which, although aimed at commercial premises, highlights risks and good practice which might read across to domestic premises.
	The Building Regulations do not currently apply to underground tanks but there are powers under the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 to make building regulations to deal with wider environmental issues if this is shown to be necessary and capable of effective enforcement.
	I have recently asked my officials to liaise with other relevant Departments and advise me further on this issue. I will write to the hon. Member with further details in due course and place copies of the letter in the Libraries of both Houses. In the meantime, the Environment Agency has powers under the Groundwater Regulations 1998, to prohibit or control the underground storage of hydrocarbons, and to prosecute if pollution occurs.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Hedon

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the proposed site for BASF's GM potatoes in Hedon, East Yorkshire;
	(2)  whether he plans to approve the proposed site for BASF's experimental trials of GM potatoes in Hedon, East Yorkshire.

Ian Pearson: The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment has considered relevant information on the proposed site and is satisfied that the trials will not have any adverse effect on human health or the environment. In the light of this we have granted a statutory consent to BASF, valid until 2011. BASF will not use the East Yorkshire site for trials this year, but may do so in future years.

Ivory

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will use his vote at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora conference in the Netherlands in June this year to support the 20 year moratorium proposal relating to elephant conservation; and if he will make it his policy to oppose further calls to trade in ivory.

Barry Gardiner: No decision has yet been made on whether a one-off ivory sale should go ahead. The UK will only support this if all conditions previously agreed by the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2002 have been met. The UK is currently considering the evidence to decide whether those criteria have been met and will also look to be informed by the African Elephant Dialogue meeting that will take place between 30 May-1 June, immediately prior to the CITES Standing Committee.
	Nevertheless, the UK continues to support the global ban on any general commercial trade in ivory, a ban which has been in place since 1989. If any one-off sale is agreed, we would not expect to agree any further sales or annual quotas until the effects of such an event have been assessed. However, the concept of a fixed period moratorium is not in keeping with the way that CITES operates, where decisions are taken on the best scientific and trade data available at any time.

Livestock: Exports

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will end the practice of live calf exports to continental veal units.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK cannot place a unilateral ban on the export of calves as this would contravene free trade rules and be illegal under EU law.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many sites of special scientific interest have been identified by Natural England as requiring a  (a) management notice and  (b) management scheme to secure their condition.

Barry Gardiner: To date, one management scheme has been served. Natural England is currently identifying and assessing the appropriateness of a number of other potential management schemes. It is envisaged that two further schemes will be served before March 2008. It is not possible, at this time, to predict how many management schemes might require subsequent enforcement by way of a management notice. A management notice can be considered only where an owner or occupier has not given effect to a management scheme.

Sustainable Development: Government Departments

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to ensure that buildings on the Government Estate meet green building targets; and what steps have been taken in response to the National Audit Office's Report "Building for the Future: Sustainable Construction and Refurbishment on the Government Estate".

Ian Pearson: The UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan which was published on 5 March 2007, sets out detailed plans about how the Government will move towards a sustainably built and managed central government estate. This includes using sustainable procurement to make rapid progress against the cross-government sustainable operations targets announced in June 2006.
	The Government welcome the publication of the National Audit Office's Report on Sustainable Construction and Refurbishment on the Government Estate. Officials from the Office of Government Commerce and DEFRA will be providing further evidence in response to the Report at a Public Accounts Committee hearing in late June. I cannot go into detail in terms of next steps for responding to the NAO's report before the hearing date, as this would pre-empt the Committee hearing.

Warm Front Scheme

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account he expects the review of Warm Front prices will take of regional variations in the capacity to deliver warm front scheme projects.

Ian Pearson: The Warm Front price review considers the cost of the purchase and installation of measures under the scheme against national average prices, which can be broken down by region.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Alan Johnston

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department is taking to secure the safe return of the BBC journalist Alan Johnston; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We are extremely concerned by the kidnap of Alan Johnston and remain actively engaged in efforts to secure his safe release. We are in close touch with the Palestinian Authority, BBC and Alan's family. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.
	We have called for his unconditional release and continue to do so.
	The hon. Member will understand that we are not able to go into more detail at this stage.

Australia: Prince Charles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when HRH the Prince of Wales last visited  (a) Australia and  (b) New Zealand.

Ian McCartney: His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales last visited Australia and New Zealand in 2005. The exact dates are Australia from 25 February to 6 March and New Zealand from 6 to 10 March.

Australia: Queen Elizabeth II

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether HM the Queen has visited New Zealand in the last five years.

Ian McCartney: Her Majesty the Queen visited New Zealand from 22 to 27 February 2002.

Departments: Manpower

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff were employed by each  (a) team and  (b) programme within the Europe Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in each year since 1990.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not record or compile annual data on the number of staff working in individual teams or programmes within FCO directorates. To carry out the research to collate this information would incur disproportionate cost.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the administration costs were to the UK of phase one of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme; what the projected administration costs are of phase two of the scheme; and what proportion of these costs will be borne by the smaller 50 per cent. of UK businesses.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	An exercise carried out last year, looking at the regulations in force as at May 2005, estimated that the administrative cost to businesses in Phase I of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme was around £175,000 for all 511 installations in England and Wales.
	For Phase II, the total administrative cost (including Scotland and Northern Ireland) is estimated to be around £125,000. This is lower than in Phase I as all installations already have Greenhouse Gas (GHG) permits.
	Further estimates of the costs to the UK of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme are available in the regulatory impact assessments published by DEFRA. Copies of these are available in the Library of the House.
	A tiered approach to subsistence charges and permit application fees has been adopted, where the charges reflect the scale of emissions from the installation. This is consistent with cost-reflectivity principles.
	Following lessons learnt from Phase I of the scheme, the Government have introduced a  de minim i s threshold and revised the interpretation of the definition of a ceramics site. 10 per cent of installations have been removed from Phase II of the scheme covering less than 0.3 per cent. of scheme emissions. The revision of the ceramics definition is expected to remove around 30 installations, representing 0.08 per cent. of total emissions within the scheme.
	The Environment Agency commissioned a study that looked at the cost of compliance in the EU ETS. It found that in the first year of the scheme the costs for smaller emitters (emitting less than 10KtCO2 a year) were between 1.08 and 2.77 per tonne of CO2.
	It is difficult to get an accurate picture of the actual cost of compliance as Government do not have access to the prices businesses pay for allowances. The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) for Phase II of the scheme estimates that the cost of the scheme to the UK economy could be between £80 million and £640 million per year. This cost assumes a certain level of abatement will take place within the UK and also that the UK will purchase some allowances from the market. The final cost will therefore depend on the market price of carbon.

Galileo Project

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial contribution the UK is making to the EU Galileo satellite project; what further requests for funding are anticipated; what steps she is taking to ensure that Galileo is not used for military purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Galileo programme is jointly funded by the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA). The UK has contributed €142 million through ESA and, through contributions to the EU budget, approximately 17 per cent. of the estimated €790 million that the Commission has invested in the programme. The Commission is currently considering funding options for 2007-13, which will require agreement by the Council and the European Parliament. As my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Transport, Dr. Ladyman, set out in his written ministerial statement on the EU Transport Council on 18 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 54-56WS, the UK will continue to maintain that Galileo is a civil programme under civil control.

Iraq: Armed Forces

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice Ministers, her officials and ambassadors gave to their counterparts in the United States prior to the disbandment of the Iraqi army and the de-Ba'athification programme in May 2003.

Kim Howells: The detail of exchanges between the Government and the US Administration in 2003 remains confidential. Events moved very quickly in the aftermath of the removal of Saddam Hussein and it should be remembered that by the end of the initial hostilities the Iraqi army had effectively dissolved itself—there were no formed units, no equipment and all barracks had been comprehensively looted. At the same time throughout Iraq there was overwhelming popular pressure for de-Ba'athification to begin, reflecting the suffering and resentment among ordinary Iraqis as a consequence of three decades of repression by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Middle East

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the implications for British policy in the Middle East of the recently published World Bank report "Movement and Access Restrictions in the West Bank: Uncertainty and Inefficiency in the Palestinian Economy".

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	I welcome the recent World Bank report, the preparation of which was financed by DFID, and I broadly agree with its conclusions. Free movement and access are essential for Palestinians to be able to trade goods and services. The UK has repeatedly called on both parties to implement their obligations as set out in the November 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access. We have also regularly raised concerns with the government of Israel concerning their policies in Jerusalem, which threaten to cut off east Jerusalem from the west bank.
	The best prospect for lasting improvements in movement and access is through the peace process. DFID's programme therefore aims to work with partners to help end the conflict and create a viable Palestinian state. As part of this, we help develop Palestinian institutions where possible, and support Palestinian negotiators to move towards and prepare for a negotiated just peace. The UK also funds work to generate media awareness of movement and access restrictions, and to petition the Israeli High Court of Justice on such issues.

Papua: Politics and Government

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has to appoint an honorary consul to Papua and West Papua.

Ian McCartney: There are no plans to appoint an honorary consul to either Papua or West Papua provinces, consular cover for these provinces is provided by our embassy in Jakarta. In addition, officials from the embassy visit regularly to assess the situation and to identify areas where we can help the people of Papua and West Papua.
	The UK's policy on Papua is that we support the territorial integrity of Indonesia and therefore do not support independence for the province of Papua. We believe that the best way to resolve the complex issues in Papua is through promoting peaceful dialogue between Papuan groups and the Indonesian Government. We believe that full implementation of existing special autonomy legislation is the best way to proceed towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous Papua province.

Treaty of Rome: Anniversaries

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by  (a) the UK Government and  (b) the EU institutions on celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome in the UK.

Geoff Hoon: To celebrate this anniversary, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Education and Skills and the British Council launched a year-long initiative in March called "Learning Together". This initiative will make information available to UK schools about the range of opportunities to develop partnerships with schools across Europe and help schools that have not previously taken part in international activities to get involved.
	£16,618 has been spent so far on "Learning Together". The total budget is £102,418.
	Requests for information on funding by the EU institutions can be made directly to the European Commission Representation and the European Parliament Representation in the United Kingdom.

Uganda: Royal Visits

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contingency plans her Department has made for the anti-government demonstrations planned during the Queen's visit to Uganda; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We have seen media reports about threatened anti-government demonstrations to be held during Her Majesty The Queen's visit to Uganda in November. It is not clear at this stage if any demonstrations will actually take place, but we continue to impress upon the Ugandan opposition the importance of respecting the rule of law and conducting peaceful political protest
	The Ugandan authorities would be responsible for ensuring the security arrangements during any such protest, As with any state visit, we will work closely with the Ugandan authorities and keep those security arrangements under close review. Following the recent violent demonstrations in Kampala, we are also talking to the Ugandan government and to the opposition about developing a 'code of conduct' for running and policing demonstrations.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Aerials: Planning Permission

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received in the last six months on radiation produced by mobile telephone masts; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: I have received several letters from Members of Parliament and others about telecommunications and planning policy, some of which refer to the radiation produced by mobile telephone masts. In addition, officials have dealt with correspondence, e-mails and telephone queries on this issue.

Building Research Establishment: Disclosure of Information

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make information about non-traditional construction held by the Building Research Establishment publicly available.

Angela Smith: The release of information owned and held by the Building Research Establishment is a matter for its management, and I have no responsibility for its operations.

Construction: Electromagnetic Fields

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her response is to the conclusion contained in the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Extremely Low Frequency Electronic and Magnetic Fields report that a ban on building new homes and schools near power lines is the best available option for obtaining a significant reduction in exposure to power frequency electric and magnetic fields to protect public health; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Dr. Stoate) on 15 May 2007,  Official Report, column 704W.

Construction: Manpower

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure there are sufficient numbers of skilled builders to facilitate the meeting of her zero carbon target for all new homes by 2016.

Yvette Cooper: We are in discussion with the Home Builders Federation and other industry representatives to put in place measures to ensure that those in the housebuilding industry have the necessary skills to deliver zero carbon new homes by 2016.

Departments: Greater London

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's responsibilities are with respect to London, broken down by policy area; what responsibilities she holds jointly with the Mayor of London; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for national policy related to local and regional government, housing, planning, fire and resilience, neighbourhood renewal, community cohesion and equalities in England, including London.
	The Mayor of London's statutory responsibilities are set out in the Greater London Authority Act 1999, and will be enhanced through the Greater London Authority Bill currently proceeding through Parliament. These responsibilities cover strategic planning, fire services and—with the completion of the Bill—housing in London. The Mayor also has a general power to promote economic and social development and improve the environment in London.
	The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the Mayor of London have distinct statutory responsibilities in relation to strategic planning, housing and fire services, and none of the Secretary of State's statutory responsibilities are held jointly with the Mayor.

Departments: Sovereign Strategy

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from her Department and its predecessor held with Sovereign Strategy in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1759W. Ministers have held no meetings with Sovereign Strategy since my earlier answer. It would entail disproportionate cost to provide the information requested for predecessor Departments for the whole period since 1997.

Homelessness: Hostels

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 657W, on homelessness: hostels, when her Department expects to publish its review of hostels for rough sleepers in London.

Yvette Cooper: The review of hostels for rough sleepers in London has now been finalised and we anticipate a June publication.

Housing: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people living  (a) in the Chelmsford Local Authority area and  (b) outside the Chelmsford Local Authority area are on the Chelmsford housing waiting list; and what the figures were in 1997.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 April 2007
	Local authorities in England report the numbers of households (not people) on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. However, the information is not broken down by whether the household is living within or outside the local authority district.
	The number of households on Chelmsford borough council's housing waiting list, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The link for this table is as follows and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=1163853
	Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get on to the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Housing: Children

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many children were registered as living in  (a) temporary accommodation,  (b) non-decent accommodation and  (c) overcrowded accommodation in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Information on children in temporary accommodation is only available from 2004. Figures for local authorities in London are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of children in temporary accommodation( 1)  on 31 December 2004-06: by London local authority 
			  Local authority  2004  2005  2006 
			 Barking and Dagenham 589 614 958 
			 Barnet (2)— 3,003 (2)— 
			 Bexley 632 598 612 
			 Brent 7,087 6,742 5,933 
			 Bromley (2)— 1,087 1,271 
			 Camden 2,438 2,703 2,319 
			 City of London 54 0 28 
			 Croydon 5,006 4,325 3,547 
			 Ealing (2)— 3,640 3,362 
			 Enfield 6,649 6,890 (2)— 
			 Greenwich 523 842 963 
			 Hackney 3,165 3,155 2,900 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,649 2,767 2,786 
			 Haringey (2)— 6,442 (2)— 
			 Harrow 2,526 2,373 2,298 
			 Havering 802 1,013 675 
			 Hillingdon 3,394 2,552 2,482 
			 Hounslow (2)— 1,500 (2)— 
			 Islington (2)— 1,735 (2)— 
			 Kensington and Chelsea (2)— (2)— 346 
			 Kingston upon Thames (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Lambeth 2,068 2,450 2,970 
			 Lewisham 1,931 2,445 2,740 
			 Merton 195 108 87 
			 Newham (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Redbridge (2)— 3,554 (2)— 
			 Richmond upon Thames 545 582 496 
			 Southwark 680 1,016 1,352 
			 Sutton 699 765 656 
			 Tower Hamlets 4,918 4,469 3,963 
			 Waltham Forest 2,189 3,924 4,290 
			 Wandsworth 2,012 1,863 1,587 
			 Westminster (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 (1) Households in temporary accommodation (excluding applicants recorded as homeless at home) on the last day of the quarter, as arranged by a local housing authority as a discharge of their statutory homelessness functions. (2) Local authority did not report.  Source: P1E quarterly returns 
		
	
	Estimates of the number of children living in non-decent homes or in overcrowded households in each London borough is not available.

Local Authorities: Climate Change

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many whole-time equivalent staff were employed  (a) as climate change officers and  (b) in other posts with responsibility for climate change by English local authorities in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 1 May 2007
	The Government do not hold this information centrally.

Manufacturing Industries

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with employers' organisations on the availability of appropriate sites and facilities for manufacturing start-up businesses and other small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities provide sufficient land and accommodation to meet the needs of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies;
	(3)  what discussions she has had with the Local Government Association on the availability of appropriate sites for start-ups of small and medium- sized businesses in the manufacturing sector.

Meg Munn: The Secretary of State meets a range of organisations, but has had no specific discussions with employers' organisations or with the Local Government Association about sites and facilities needed for start-up businesses and other small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector.
	National planning policy set out in Planning Policy Guidance 4: "Industrial, commercial development and small firms" asks local planning authorities to ensure that there is a sufficient quantity and variety of land available to meet the differing needs of businesses. Local planning authorities should also ensure that there is sufficient land available which is readily capable of development and well served by infrastructure.
	Regional planning bodies and local planning authorities, in preparing and reviewing their development plans, should make a realistic assessment of the quantity of land likely to be needed in their areas to meet the needs of business and developers. That assessment should ensure that suitable locations are available for start-up businesses likely to come forward in the manufacturing sector as well as for small and medium-sized enterprises.
	To assist planning authorities in assessing the overall demand for and supply of employment land, we have published "Employment Land Reviews: Guidance Note" (December 2004). This guidance seeks to help planning authorities assess the suitability of sites to accommodate employment development, to help protect the best sites in the face of competition from higher-value uses, and to help authorities to identify sites which are no longer needed for employment development and can be released for other uses, including for housing.

Manufacturing Industries: Kirklees

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to encourage Kirklees Metropolitan Council to provide more land for business start-ups and small and medium sized manufacturing enterprises.

Meg Munn: It is for Kirklees Metropolitan Council to determine the amount of land that is required to meet business needs in its local area in line with national planning policy set out in Planning Policy Guidance 4: 'Industrial, commercial development and small firms.'
	Regional planning bodies and local planning authorities, in preparing and reviewing their development plans, should make a realistic assessment of the quantity of land likely to be needed in their areas to meet the needs of business and developers. That assessment should help local planning authorities to ensure that suitable locations are available for business start-ups and small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises likely to come forward.

Manufacturing Industries: Yorkshire and Humberside

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to discuss the provision of appropriate sites for manufacturing industry, particularly start-ups for small and medium-sized enterprises, with Yorkshire Forward.

Meg Munn: The Secretary of State has no plans to discuss with Yorkshire Forward the provision of appropriate sites for manufacturing industry, particularly start-ups for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mobile Homes

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether park home owners are required, if requested by park home residents, to list all works undertaken on their behalf in cases where the increase in the pitch fee is below the retail price index.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 14 May 2007
	Implied Term 22(b)(i) of the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (Amendment of Schedule 1) (England) Order 2006 requires a park owner, if requested by the occupier, to provide (free of charge) a park home occupier with documentary evidence in support and explanation of any new pitch fee, including where the increase in pitch fee is below the retail price index.

Regional Planning and Development: Science

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the work of regional development agencies in the development of science cities.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	Six science cities make up the Science Cities Consortium Development Group. RDAs are partners with local authorities, universities, and business in the development of science cities in their regions. The consortium in each individual science city has taken forward its development according to the individual opportunities and challenges faced in each location.
	It is too early to assess the impact of science cities. There has not, therefore, yet been any formal assessment of the effectiveness of the RDAs' work in this area. In any event, an assessment of the work of RDAs in particular would not tell the whole story, as RDAs are only one of the partnership organisations involved in the development of science cities.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact on access to means-tested social service support of the receipt of payment from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Following the publication of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme 'Evaluation of First Year' report on 19 March 2007, Ministry of Defence officials are in discussion with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on the impact of Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards on means- tested social services support. The principal focus is on the Disabled Facilities Grant Programme, reflecting the concerns raised by the ex-service community during the consultation for the evaluation report. It has been agreed that the AFCS will be included in any DCLG considerations arising from the recent public consultation on the Government's proposals to improve Disabled Facilities Grant Programme delivery.

Armed Forces: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Army Cadets based in Chorley to receive replacement rifles.

Derek Twigg: On current planning, the replacement weapons for the Cadet General Purpose and Drill Purpose rifles will be issued to Cadet Forces from September 2008 with the final weapons delivered in November 2009. A detailed fielding plan has not yet been developed. Until that time, the Cadets will continue to use their existing rifles for exercises and training.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force personnel are deployed in line with harmony guidelines.

Adam Ingram: Deployment is one element of separated service that is taken into account in monitoring of the employment of personnel in line with the respective service harmony guideline.
	Levels of separated service against harmony guidelines are reported in the Department's regular public service agreement performance reports and in its annual reports, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	The Department plans to publish further harmony figures for financial year 2006-07 in its spring performance report in the next few weeks.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average tour interval is of  (a) 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh,  (b) 1st Battalion the Scots Guards,  (c) 19th Regiment Royal Artillery,  (d) 5th Regiment Royal Artillery and  (e) 39th Regiment Royal Artillery.

Adam Ingram: The recent average tour intervals for the Army units listed are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Regiment  Operational deployments  Tour interval (months)  Date  Average (months) 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh Unit Deployed to:
			  Northern Ireland (June 2001 to November 2001) 29 December 2001 to April 2004 18 
			  Iraq (May 2004 to October 2004) 10 November 2004 to August 2005  
			  Northern Ireland (September 2005 to January 2006) Theatre Reserve Battalion (May 2007 to May 2008) 15 February 2006 to April 2007  
			  
			 1st Battalion the Scots Guards Unit Deployed to:
			  Northern Ireland (May 2001 to November 2001) Iraq (February 2003 to June 2003) 14 December 2001 to January 2003 18 
			  Iraq (November 2004 to April 2005) 16 July 2003 to October 2004  
			   25 To date  
			May 2005 to August 2007  
			  
			 19th Regiment Royal Artillery Unit Deployed to:
			  Iraq (May 2005 to November 2005) Afghanistan (May 2007 to October 2007) 17 December 2005 to April 2007 17 
			  
			 39th Regiment Royal Artillery Unit Deployed to:
			  Northern Ireland (November 2002 to May 2003) Cyprus (October 2006 to April 2007) 40 June 2003 to September 2006 40 
			  Now deploying as subunits in support of operations
			  
			 5th Regiment Royal Artillery Deployed as subunits in support of operations to Operation Telic, Operation Herrick and Northern Ireland n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	As tour intervals are calculated by units rather than subunits, we are unable to calculate tour intervals for 5th Regiment Royal Artillery.

Armed Forces: Embassies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which British embassies and high commissions have  (a) a defence attaché,  (b) a military attaché,  (c) a Royal Naval attaché and  (d) an air attaché; and if he will make a statement on the future funding of these posts.

Adam Ingram: In each of the 79 countries listed the UK currently has a resident accredited Defence Attaché/Adviser (DA). In smaller posts, a singleton DA will also act as the de facto Military Attaché/Adviser (MA), Naval Attaché/Adviser (NA) and Air Attaché/Adviser (AA) to look after single service issues in addition to wider defence matters. To spread the work load, busier posts may have one or more additional accredited attaches/advisers who are subordinate to the DA. To align with the focus of the specific defence relationship with the host country, these individuals are often styled in more than one way: either as single service attachés/advisers in their own right, or in a combined roles (such as NA/AA or MA/NA); or simply as the Deputy or Assistant Defence Attachés/Advisers (covering issues across all three services). Where single service attachés are not specified the DA performs these roles where required. A number of other countries and overseas territories are covered on a non-resident basis. The current disposition of attachés/advisers is described in the following table.
	
		
			   Country in which  Attaché s  are resident  Countries and Overseas Territories covered on a non—resident basis  Defence  Attaché  (DA) (a)  Military  Attaché  (MA) (b)  Naval  Attaché  (NA) (c)  Air  Attaché  (AA) (d) 
			 1 Albania  P — — — 
			 2 Algeria Tunisia  — — — 
			 3 Argentina Uruguay, Paraguay P — — P 
			 4 Australia Papua New Guinea P MA/AA   
			 5 Austria Switzerland P  — — 
			 6 Bahrain  P  — — 
			 7 Bangladesh  P — — — 
			 8 Barbados Grenada, St Vincent and Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Puerto Rico P — — — 
			 9 Bosnia and Herzegovina  P — — — 
			 10 Brazil Venezuela P — — — 
			 11 Brunei  P — — — 
			 12 Bulgaria  P Deputy DA   
			 13 Canada  P NA/AA   
			 14 Chile Ecuador, Bolivia P — — — 
			 15 China(1) Mongolia P P NA/AA  
			 16 Colombia Peru, Panama P — — — 
			 17 Congo (DRC) Angola, Congo, Gabon P — — — 
			 18 Croatia  P — — — 
			 19 Cyprus  P — — — 
			 20 Czech Republic  P — — — 
			 21 Denmark  P  — — 
			 22 Egypt  P NA/AA   
			 23 Ethiopia Djibouti P — — — 
			 24 Finland Estonia P — — — 
			 25 France  P P P — 
			 26 Georgia Armenia, Azerbaijan P  — — 
			 27 Germany  P P NA/AA  
			 28 Ghana Ivory Coast, Togo P — — — 
			 29 Greece  P NA/AA   
			 30 Guatemala El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Cuba P — — — 
			 31 India(2)  P NA/AA   
			 32 Indonesia Democratic Republic of Timor Leste P — — — 
			 33 Iraq  P — — — 
			 34 Ireland  P  — — 
			 35 Israel  P NA/AA   
			 36 Italy Malta P NA/AA   
			 37 Jamaica Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos P — — — 
			 38 Japan  P — — — 
			 39 Jordan  P — — — 
			 40 Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan P — —  
			 41 Kenya Eritrea, Tanzania, Seychelles P — —  
			 42 Korea  P NA/AA — — 
			 43 Kuwait  P — — — 
			 44 Lebanon  P — — — 
			 45 Lithuania Latvia P — — — 
			 46 Macedonia  P — — — 
			 47 Malaysia Vietnam P Assistant DA — — 
			 48 Morocco Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia P — — — 
			 49 Nepal  P Assistant MA   
			 50 New Zealand Fiji, Tonga P — — — 
			 51 Netherlands Brussels, Luxembourg P — — — 
			 52 Nigeria  P — — — 
			 53 Norway  P — — — 
			 54 Oman  P NA/AA   
			 55 Pakistan  P NA/AA   
			 56 Poland  P NA/MA   
			 57 Portugal Cape Verde P — — — 
			 58 Qatar  P — — — 
			 59 Romania Moldova P Assistant DA   
			 60 Russia(3) Belarus, Turkmenistan P P P P 
			 61 Saudi Arabia  P NA/AA   
			 62 Serbia Montenegro P — — — 
			 63 Sierra Leone Guinea, Liberia P — — — 
			 64 Singapore  P — — — 
			 65 Slovakia Hungary P
			 66 South Africa Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana Mauritius P NA/AA   
			 67 Spain  P Deputy DA   
			 68 Sri Lanka Maldives P — — — 
			 69 Sudan  P — — — 
			 70 Sweden  P — — — 
			 71 Syria  P — — — 
			 72 Thailand  P — — — 
			 73 Turkey  P NA/AA   
			 74 Uganda Burundi, Rwanda P — — — 
			 75 Ukraine  P Deputy DA   
			 76 United Arab Emirates  P  — — 
			 77 United States of America(4) Bermuda P — — — 
			 78 Yemen  P P P P 
			 79 Zimbabwe Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia P — — — 
			 (1) Also supported by an Assistant MA.  (2) Also supported by an Assistant DA.  (3) Also supported by Assistant MA, Assistant MA and Assistant AA.  (4) Also supported by a Deputy DA, Assistant NA, Assistant MA and Assistant AA. 
		
	
	The defence diplomacy network is regularly reviewed as part of the normal planning process and to meet changing foreign and defence policy priorities. The FCO decided last year to withdraw its contribution to the cost of maintaining the Attaché/Adviser network and this has necessitated such a review, which is still in progress. Decisions on any changes to the network will not be made until the summer.

Armed Forces: Prosecutions

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outcome was of each case in which proceedings are no longer ongoing which was passed by the Army Prosecuting Authority back to the armed forces to consider what action needs to be taken since 2003.

Adam Ingram: The number of referrals to the Army Prosecuting Authority which either were not directed for trial by court martial, or having been directed were discontinued before trial is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of cases 
			 2003 (1)102 
			 2004 214 
			 2005 301 
			 2006 354 
			 2007 (2)101 
			 (1) The records for the Army Prosecuting Authority (Germany) are incomplete for 2003 and are recorded from September 2003 onwards. (2) Up to 30 April 2007 
		
	
	Information on what action has been taken by a regiment/corps with these cases is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Psychiatry

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities are available for psychiatric treatment of troops requiring such treatment on return to North Yorkshire after service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Derek Twigg: Our mental health services are configured to provide community-based mental health care in line with national best practice, providing assessment and treatment in line with the guidelines and standards set by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the national service frameworks. We do this primarily through our 15 military Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMH) (plus satellite centres overseas), which provide out-patient mental health care. One of these centres is located at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire.
	In-patient care, when necessary, is provided in psychiatric units belonging to the Priory Group, through a central contract with MOD. The Priory Group has arranged a subcontract with Affinity Healthcare at Middleton St George Hospital, Darlington for patients in the North East.
	Any mobilised serviceman or woman injured on operational deployment is entitled to, and will receive the same level of medical treatment and support, irrespective of whether he or she is a member of the regular or reserve forces.
	Once they are demobilised, it is a long established tradition that reserve forces' medical welfare becomes the responsibility of their own local NHS primary care trust, and the majority of veterans' physical and mental health needs are met by these provisions. However, the MOD recognises that it has expertise to offer in certain specific circumstances, and in November 2006 launched the Reserves Mental Health Programme.
	The RMHP is open to any current or former member of the UK Volunteer and Regular Reserves who has been demobilised since 1 January 2003 following an overseas operational deployment as a reservist, and who believes that the deployment may have adversely affected their mental health. Under the RMHP, we liaise with the individual's GP and offer a mental health assessment at the Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire. If the individual is diagnosed to have an operational-related mental health condition, we then offer out-patient treatment at one of the DCMHs (e.g. Catterick Garrison). If more acute cases present, the Defence Medical Services will assist in obtaining access to NHS in-patient treatment.

Army: Greater London

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated value is of the house provided by his Department for the General Officer Commanding London District.

Derek Twigg: The house occupied by the General Officer Commanding of London District is leased from Cadogan Estates Group. The market value of the property is a matter for them.

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which external consultants were used by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the (i) nature and (ii) cost of the work was in each case.

Adam Ingram: The specific information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department uses external consultants to provide specialist commercial, financial and legal services for Integrated Project Teams to assist in the delivery of services (both PFI and non-PFI). In addition, ad hoc specialist technical consultants are engaged in particular areas where in-house expertise is not available.
	During 2005-06 the MOD spent £47.2 million on external consultancy services to support teams seeking to engage industry in the delivery of public-private partnerships (PPP) including PFI and wider markets.
	Summaries of MOD expenditure on external assistance, of which public-private partnerships including PFI and wider markets are a part, are available in the Libraries of both Houses for the years 1995-96 to 2005-06.

Ex-servicemen: Medical Treatments

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many war veterans  (a) were entitled to receive and  (b) received priority treatment in each of the last five years, broken down by strategic health authority.

Derek Twigg: All war pensioners, including recipients of Armed Forces Compensation Scheme awards, are entitled to NHS priority treatment for conditions accepted to be due to service subject only to clinical priority. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1853W, regarding the numbers of war pensioners who receive priority treatment.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assurances he has received from his US counterpart that a STOVL variation of the joint strike fighter (F35B) will be included in the build programme.

Adam Ingram: The US remains committed to production of the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant and requests for funding for STOVL aircraft are included in the current Presidential Budget which is before Congress. The first development STOVL aircraft is being assembled and is on target to achieve first flight in 2008.

NATO: Medals

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which medals issued by NATO British service personnel are permitted  (a) to receive and  (b) to wear; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Approval has been given for British Service personnel to accept and wear the NATO medals for service in:
	Former Republic of Yugoslavia, between 1 July 1992 and 31 December 2002;
	Kosovo, between 13 October 1998 and 31 December 2002;
	Macedonia, between 1 June 2001 and 31 December 2002.
	NATO replaced the above awards with a NATO (Non-Article 5) Balkans medal, with effect from 1 January 2003 to a future date to be decided. Approval has been given for British service personnel to accept and wear this medal if they are not already in possession of any of the previous NATO medals for service in this region.
	Other NATO medals that are currently available that may be presented to British personnel have not been approved for wear.

Nimrod Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average logged daily serviceability of the Nimrod fleet was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Data are not collected on the average logged daily serviceability of the Nimrod fleet.
	The following table shows the annual planned flying hours against the annual achieved flying hours between the financial years 1997-98 and 2006-07. The Nimrod fleet includes the Nimrod MR2 and the Nimrod R1 aircraft and the following table is the combined totals for both fleets.
	
		
			  align="left" valign="bottom" Financial year  Total annual planned flying hours  Total annual achieved flying hours 
			 2006-07 8,732 8,012 
			 2005-06 7,932 9,445 
			 2004-05 10,514 12,118 
			 2003-04 12,112 12,115 
			 2002-03 11,830 11,707 
			 2001-02 12,495 12,578 
			 2000-01 12,265 11,941 
			 1999-2000 12,935 12,859 
			 1998-99 13,313 12,728 
			 1997-98 13,677 13,243 
		
	
	The actual flown statistics for FY2006-07 are lower than the planned because of the loss of Nimrod XV230 on 2 September 2006.

Nimrod Aircraft

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to refit the Nimrod MR2 R1 aircraft's wing fuel tanks with foam to prevent explosions.

Adam Ingram: We keep under review the requirement for defensive aids, including explosion suppressant foam, in all our aircraft deployed on operations including the Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft.

Peacekeeping Operations: Iraq

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the incidence of  (a) neurological and  (b) other illnesses among members of the Black Watch following deployment on Operation Telic.

Derek Twigg: Black Watch personnel were included in the comprehensive programme of health surveillance which the MOD commissioned from the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), which has considerable expertise in this field. I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 18 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1478-83W, for the results of this study, published in May 2006, and available to view at www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr, which showed that there had been no substantial increase in symptomatic ill health among regular personnel from participation in the operation.

RAF Leeming

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the long-term future of RAF Leeming.

Adam Ingram: The long-term future of the station is secure. The A6 Communications Hub has begun to build up and some elements have already moved into RAF Leeming. As I advised the hon. Member on 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1355W, the number and operation of military airfields is under review to ensure that the best use is made of the Defence Estate for our armed forces.

RAF Northolt

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the limits are on civil aircraft movements at RAF Northolt per calendar year; and whether there are any plans for the numbers to be changed.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 May 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 October 2005,  Official Report, column 1250W, and on 2 December 2005,  Official Report, column 824W, in which I reiterated that any changes to the number of civil commercial aircraft movements would be subject to full consultation with the local authority and interested parties. This position has not changed.

RAF Northolt

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) military and  (b) civilian aircraft (i) arrived at and (ii) departed from RAF Northolt in each year since 2004 for which figures are available.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 May 2007
	This information is not held in the format requested; however, the following table details the number of aircraft movements, which could be an arrival or departure, for each of the last three years:
	
		
			   Civilian  Military 
			 2004 7493 4792 
			 2005 7400 5080 
			 2006 7552 4836 
		
	
	Civil commercial aircraft movements at RAF Northolt are limited to 7,000 per calendar year; the number of civilian movements quoted in the table includes non-commercial civilian aircraft movements, for example those transporting visiting Royalty and heads of State.

Saudi Arabia

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when  (a) he has met and  (b) officials from his Department have met (i) Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and (ii) his representatives since 1 January 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 16 May 2007
	It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bridges Community Ventures

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what dates officials in his Department have met the fund manager of Bridges Community Ventures (BCV) since May 2002; and which representatives of BCV attended each meeting.

Margaret Hodge: Since May 2002, DTI officials have attended two Partnership meetings per annum at which the Bridges community development venture fund executive team were present together with the limited partners in the fund. These meetings were open to other investors and BCV board members. DTI does not keep a record of third party attendees.
	Additional meetings have been held as set out in the following list. Meetings were usually attended by Philip Newborough and Michele Giddens or, on occasion, by one or the other.
	 Partnership meetings
	10 December 2002
	10 June 2003
	10 December 2003
	7 July 2004
	10 December 2004
	10 June 2005
	8 December 2005
	8 June 2006
	7 December 2006
	 Ad hoc meetings
	24 April 2002
	30 July 2002
	4 November 2003
	1 September 2004
	5 October 2004
	18 October 2006
	21 November 2006

Bridges Community Ventures

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which representative of Bridges Community Ventures made the presentation to the Capital for Enterprise Board on 21 November 2006.

Margaret Hodge: Philip Newborough and Michelle Giddens, representing Bridges Community Ventures, jointly made the presentation to the Capital for Enterprise Board on 2 November 2006.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff funded by the public purse in his Department are classified as people without posts.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the DTI there are currently 73 staff who are surplus seeking to continue their career in the civil service. All are provided with dedicated management support to assist with securing redeployment opportunities. They all have access to a voluntary early retirement and severance scheme.

Electrical Engineering: Waste Management

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the definition of waste is in the context of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; what guidance he has issued on whether electrical goods designated for repair and resale come within this definition; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The definition of waste applied to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE) is given in article 1 (1) (a) of Directive2006/12/EU, that is
	waste shall mean any substance or object in the categories set out in Annex I which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.
	Non-statutory guidance on the UK WEEE regulations, published in February 2007, encourages the prioritisation of the reuse of whole electrical and electronic appliances under the regulations and the forms of evidence acceptable to the environment agencies to allow producers to count the reuse of whole appliances against their notified obligations.

Electrical Engineering: Waste Management

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is Government policy to promote the repair and resale of damaged electrical goods as an alternative to their disposal as waste; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Electrical products suitable for refurbishment and reuse should be prioritised under the UK WEEE regulations. All equipment identified for legitimate reuse will be counted towards producers financial obligations provided appropriate evidence is presented to the environment agencies.
	I will be establishing an independent advisory body on the operation of the UK WEEE regulations later in the year. One of the tasks of the body will be to identify and disseminate good practice across all aspects of the regulations and the supporting infrastructure. One area for consideration will be the prioritisation of environmental legitimate reuse.

Electricity: Meters

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of  (a) the average life of an electricity meter,  (b) the number of electricity meters in the UK,  (c) the number of electricity meters changed each year and  (d) the time it would take to replace all existing electricity meters with new electricity monitors; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: There are 28.5 million electricity meters in Great Britain. The average life of an electricity meter is 20 years, and around 5 per cent. are changed each year. Electricity meters could not be replaced by any device that did not meet the legal requirement that, where electricity is used, it must be measured by an appropriate meter. The Government will set out their views on electricity and gas metering in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.

Energy: Research

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what progress has been made on setting up a new Energy and Environmental Research Institute further to the Chancellor's announcement in the Budget 2006;
	(2)  what progress has been made in setting up the Environmental Technologies Institute; and when he expects the Institute to be opened.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published the prospectus for the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) on 14 September 2006. It envisaged that the Institute would be legally established and fully operational in 2008, with 50:50 public/private sector funding. The intention is that Institute will be legally incorporated over the next few months. A shortlist of organisations which have been invited to prepare detailed submissions to host the ETI director and support staff was announced on 14 May. The first technical programmes and the host organisation should be identified over the summer.

Energy White Paper

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date he expects to publish the Energy White Paper.

Alistair Darling: I refer the hon. Member to the business statement made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Straw) on 17 May 2007,  Official Report, column 737.

Fuel Poverty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to lift households out of fuel poverty.

Malcolm Wicks: Responsibility for tackling fuel poverty in England is shared between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Department of Trade and Industry's main contribution to tackling fuel poverty is through ensuring a competitive energy market, which will bear down on the cost of energy to the benefit of all consumers but particularly those in fuel poverty.
	The Department of Trade and Industry itself has a number of specific policies to tackle the issue of fuel poverty. The Department's Design and Demonstration Unit has designed and delivered projects to provide gas connections to deprived communities, and it is now developing community projects utilising renewable technologies. Last winter work was taken forward with energy suppliers, Ofgem and other key players to mail out to 100,000 elderly households in receipt of pension credit offering a range of assistance.
	The Department has also liaised closely with energy suppliers on the creation of the Home Heat Helpline, which provides a central point of information about help available from energy suppliers and Government. It has also encouraged energy suppliers to introduce social tariffs, price freezes and other measures for fuel poor and low income customers.
	The forthcoming Energy White Paper will set out some of the steps that are needed to tackle fuel poverty across all its causes.

Imports: India

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of imports into the UK were from India in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

Ian McCartney: Table 9.3 of the ONS UK Balance of Payments Pink Book implies that in 2005 1.1 per cent. of imports of goods and services into the United Kingdom came from India. UK exports of goods and services to India were 1.2 per cent. of total UK exports. Similar figures for trade in goods and services on a balance of payments basis are not yet available for 2006.
	HM Revenue and Customs' Overseas Trade Statistics imply that in 2005 1 per cent. of imports of goods into the United Kingdom came from India and 1.3 per cent. UK exports of goods went to India, while in 2006 1.1 per cent. of imports of goods came from India and 1.1 per cent. of exports of goods went to India.
	The sectors with the highest share of UK imports of goods from India in 2006 were:
	Articles of apparel and clothing accessories20.2 per cent.
	Textile yarn, fabrics, made up articles etc8.3 per cent.
	Miscellaneous manufactured articles7.2 per cent.
	Petroleum and products and related articles6.7 per cent.
	Manufactures of metal not elsewhere specified5.8 per cent.
	The sectors with the highest share of UK exports of goods to India in 2006 were:
	Non-metallic mineral manufacturers (almost entirely diamonds) 41.5 per cent.
	Power generating machinery and equipment6.7 per cent.
	General industrial machinery and equipment4.9 per cent.
	Other transport equipment4.7 per cent.
	Metalliferous ores and metal scrap4.5 per cent.
	The ONS estimate of the level of UK foreign direct investment (FDI) in India at the end of 2005 was 0.3 per cent. of the total UK level of outward FDI. The estimate of the level of Indian FDI in the UK was 0.1 per cent. of the total level of inward FDI in the UK.
	In 2005-06 UK Trade and Investment saw a 111 per cent. rise in the number of inward investment projects from India, which reached 76 (including mergers and acquisitions) worth 1.02 billion. As a result of this increase, India rose from eighth to third in UKTI's FDI league table by project numbers, behind the USA and Japan.

Manufacturing Industries

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that an appropriate level of industrial land is available for business start-ups and other small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient supply of land and accommodation for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector.

Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
	The Secretary of State meets with a range of organisations, but has had no specific discussions with employers' organisations or with the Local Government Association about sites and facilities needed for start-up businesses and other small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector.
	National planning policy set out in Planning Policy Guidance 4: Industrial, commercial development and small firms, asks local planning authorities to ensure that there is a sufficient quantity and variety of land available to meet the differing needs of businesses. Local planning authorities should also ensure that there is sufficient land available which is readily capable of development and well served by infrastructure.
	Regional planning bodies and local planning authorities, in preparing and reviewing their development plans, should make a realistic assessment of the quantity of land likely to be needed in their areas to meet the needs of business and developers. That assessment should ensure that suitable locations are available for start-up businesses likely to come forward in the manufacturing sector as well as for small and medium-sized enterprises.
	To assist planning authorities in assessing the overall demand for and supply of employment land, we have published 'Employment Land Reviews: Guidance Note (December 2004).' This guidance seeks to help planning authorities assess the suitability of sites to accommodate employment development, to help protect the best sites in the face of competition from higher value uses and to help them identify those sites which are no longer needed for employment development and which can be released for other uses, including housing.

Nanotechnology

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the  (a) present and  (b) future importance to the (i) UK and (ii) North East economy of nanotechnology; and what steps his Department is taking to support this industry.

Malcolm Wicks: Worldwide it has been estimated that the market for nanotechnology alone could be worth 1 trillion by 2013. The benefits to the UK economy from exploiting the opportunities this represents should not be and are not being underestimated.
	To that end the DTI is spending 90 million over six years (it was announced in 2003) on research and infrastructure that promotes the commercialisation of Micro and Nanotechnologies (MNT), with a focus on collaborative research and technology transfer. Much of this is 'pump priming' funding and includes:
	funding of 40 million for applied research projects that are relevant to industry;
	funding of over 50 million to establish and maintain for five years a network of 23 Nanotechnology Centres developing nanotechnology solutions for industry in the areas of nanometrology, nanomaterials, nanomedicine and nanofabrication;
	funding for the Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Networkthis a vehicle for the community to develop its ideas and interactions and a communications route between that community and the Government; and
	support for the Nanotechnology Industries Associationan independent organisation that promotes the responsible use of nanotechnology and raises awareness of its many applications among key audiences.
	This funding has been spread across the UK, and the North East is the location of no fewer than four Nanotechnology Centres(1) and is well represented in the consortia undertaking the nanotechnology applied research projects.
	After the third MNT competition for the Applied Research Programme, in spring 2005, the Technology Strategy Board decided that future support for MNT would be integrated with other technology areas such as materials within the Technology Programme. It is through this mechanism that future funding for nanotechnology will funded; for example, the spring 2007 Technology Programme Competition has two priority areas which involve the application of nanotechnology:
	Smart, Bioactive and Nanostructures Materials for Health7 million
	Plastic Electronics5 million.
	The Technology Strategy Board will be responsible for the research agenda and expenditure on nanotechnology.
	The Research Councils are funding ongoing fundamental research. For example, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has spent over 132 million since 2003 on nanotechnology, and is currently investing about 40 million per annum in research grants and supporting 40 new PhD studentships per annum in the area.
	Regionally, North East England has a strong micro- and nanotechnology capability in the areas of bio-nano materials and devices, as well as semi-conductor research and production and the integration of these technologies in areas such as sensors and photonics.
	ONE NorthEast, in collaboration with the DTI, is making a major investment in MNT, and the North East is home to the University Innovation Centre for Nanotechnology. This is a 'virtual' centre fronted by the five Regional Universities, with a public investment of 7 million from DTI and One NorthEast, and leveraging an extra 14 million. It facilitates knowledge transfer, the strengthening of capacity and capability, and open access to state-of-the-art facilities.
	North East England has two centres of excellence concerned with facilitating the application of nanotechnology, the Centre for Excellence in Nanotechnology, Microtechnology and Photonics Systems (Cenamps) and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI). Both have major initiatives concerned with nanotechnology, which include the Fuel Cells Application Facility, a major bio-nano and medicine programme and the National Industrial Biotechnology Facility (7 million). The Centres are funded and supported by ONE NorthEast, in partnership with Central Government, Universities and businesses. These initiatives span and bring together different disciplines, industries and sectors as befits the broad outlook of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is also becoming increasingly important to the region's process industries. In this sector, the CPI provides industrial research and development expertise, for example in advanced manufacturing and new product development in material properties.
	Additionally, these Centres of Excellence play a key strategic role in the economy of North East England, facilitating 'cultural' change within the Regional Universities, encouraging them to become more entrepreneurial, and strengthening and building on the region's capabilities in emerging small-scale technologies.
	An example of a successful new nanotechnology enterprise is Durham Scientific Crystals (DSC). DSC is a spin-out company from Durham University's Physics Department. The Company, formed in April 2003, is actively involved in developing proprietary semiconductor materials. In partnership with the University, it has worldwide exclusive rights to commercially exploit a patented technology. The research was supported by One NorthEast and the Research Councils prior to the spin-out from the University, and Cenamps has supported DSC since formation. DSC has subsequently received 1 million funding from US-based venture capitalist Amphion Innovations, which will help take the business to its next stage of development.
	(1)( )The four Nanotechnology Centres are Fluence in Redcar, National Particulates in Wilton, INEX in Newcastle, and Plastic Electronics Technology Centre (PeTEC) in Sedgefield. Furthermore, Fluence, INEX and PeTEC are all co-funded by ONE.

Natural Gas: Storage

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his policy is on 'ramming the pipes' as a means of gas storage.

Malcolm Wicks: Linepackthe industry term for increasing the volume of gas stored within a pipeline system by operating at pressures closer to the maximum design operating pressureis one of the tools used by gas transmission companies for managing short-term variations in the gas supply-demand balance. This is a commercial matter, subject to economic regulation by Ofgem and safety regulation by the Health and Safety Executive.

Natural Gas: Storage

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications for gas storage facilities were  (a) made and  (b) successful in each of the last 15 years.

Malcolm Wicks: One application has been made by a licensed gas transporter seeking a storage authorisation order to store gas underground in natural porous strata under the Gas Act 1965. The application by Caythorpe Gas Storage Ltd for a storage authorisation order for its Caythorpe Gas Field project in the East Riding of Yorkshire is being considered at a public inquiry together with a related compulsory purchase order and related planning appeals.
	All other applications for gas storage facilities have been dealt with by local planning authorities in the normal planning regime under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

North Sea Oil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public money the Government spent on the UK's North sea oil and gas fields in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: Expenditure on programmes relating to UK North sea oil and gas fields (Oil and Gas Maximising Recovery Programme and predecessor programmes, and the Offshore Geology Programme) is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year   million 
			 1997-98 4.0 
			 1998-99 3.6 
			 1999-2000 2.7 
			 2000-01 3.4 
			 2001-02 3.2 
			 2002-03 3.2 
			 2003-04 3.4 
			 2004-05 3.5 
			 2005-06 3.1 
			 2006-07 2.3 
		
	
	It is difficult to identify the exact portion of DTI running costs relating to oil and gas fields for each year of the period but in 2006-07 a further 3.5 million was dedicated to maximising production from the UK's oil and gas fields.

Nuclear Power

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland of 3 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1817, on nuclear power, if he will ensure that the evidence provided on nuclear security issues to the Energy Review 2006 is incorporated in the consultation paper on nuclear energy.

Malcolm Wicks: Our nuclear consultation will endeavour to bring together all the evidence and analysis, including nuclear security issues, which we have collected since the Energy Review began. It will help people to reach informed views and provide us with valuable contributions, which will help inform the Government's decision in the autumn.

Nuclear Power: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK has an adequate supply of people with the skills needed to apply nuclear and radiological technology.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have assisted in the establishment of a sector skills council to represent the needs of the nuclear industry. Cogent Sector Skills Council, working with employers, is taking a strategic view of the nuclear sector to ensure that the education and training base can meet the nuclear employers' current and future needs. The nuclear industry, working with Cogent, has successfully competed for a national skills academy through the Department for Education and Skills academy programme. The Nuclear National Skills Academy is at the business planning stage which is expected to be finalised shortly. The academy, which is employer-led, is designed to deliver high-quality training provision and drive up standards in the nuclear industry.
	The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has a portfolio of new activities in support of nuclear skills and research which include 6.1 million for a research consortium to address the challenge of keeping open the nuclear option and 1 million for a Nuclear Technology Education Consortium to provide masters-level and continuing professional development training for the nuclear industries. Both lever additional funding from industry.

Overseas Trade: India

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for a trade mission to India in the near future; and what steps he plans to take to improve trade relations with India.

Ian McCartney: There is a sustained high level of ministerial commitment to improving the UK's trade relations with India. The annual Prime Ministers' summit agenda has a significant trade and investment content. Completion of the Doha development round, further liberalisation of Indian markets and support for UK companies bidding for business in India are recurrent features of all ministerial interaction with Indian counterparts. The next bilateral business event focusing on investment is due to take place in India in the autumn of 2007 as part of the Prime Minister's visit. To coincide with the Chancellor's visit to India, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was accompanied by a 150-strong business delegation to the Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETC) meeting in New Delhi in January 2007. Business-led working groups are addressing the barriers and opportunities in India in sectors of importance including financial and professional services, infrastructure and health care.
	The Chancellor announced the increase in UK Trade and Investment's support to the Indo British Partnership Network (IBPN) by providing funding of 1 million a year. In addition, UKTI is increasing its level of resource to India, both by adding new staff to commercial sections and by recruiting a number of business advisers in the UK to assist firms looking to trade with high growth markets such as India. India features as a priority for all the sectoral support activities undertaken by UKTI. The English regions and all the devolved administrations are also actively promoting business opportunities.

Post Offices: Standards

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he plans to take to ensure continuity and consistency in monitoring the provision of Post Office services during the introduction of new national access criteria on behalf of consumers whilst Postwatch is merged into the National Consumer Council.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We recognise the importance of ensuring that the role Postwatch will play in relation to post office network change is not adversely affected by the establishment of the new National Consumer Council. Work is being carried out to determine what arrangements should be put in place to ensure that that does not happen. Postwatch is involved in these discussions.

Post Offices: Standards

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the regional  (a) council members and  (b) committees of Postwatch are expected to play a role in monitoring the implementation of new national access criteria to post offices for the duration of the programme.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Post Office Ltd and Postwatch have reached agreement on the role of the Consumer Council during local consultations on area plans, and it is expected that regional council members and committees will be involved in the development of area plans and subsequent local consultations.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what permission is required for British Nuclear Group Sellafield Ltd and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to send radioactively contaminated metals from decommissioning facilities at Sellafield to the Studsvik decontamination plant in Sweden.

Malcolm Wicks: The import and export of radioactive waste is subject to a system of control and prior authorisation under Council Directive 92/3/Euratom and the Transfrontier Shipment of Radioactive Waste Regulations 1993. The Environment Agency is the competent authority that issues such authorisations to export radioactive waste from, and import it into, England and Wales.
	The proposed shipments of contaminated metal from Sellafield, for recycling in Sweden, are in line with the Government's policy for the long-term management of low-level radioactive waste, announced on 26 March this year. The radioactive products of overseas treatment of radioactive waste are generally returned to the UK, with the metal being recycled in the country where the smelting process is carried out.

Redundancy: Pregnant Women

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate his Department has made of the number of women who were made redundant after becoming pregnant in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Labour Force Survey estimates that 191,000 women were made redundant in the UK in 2006; this is around 1.6 per cent. of all female employees. For the previous four years, the total numbers of female employees made redundant are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002 258,000 
			 2003 215,000 
			 2004 212,000 
			 2005 203,000 
		
	
	However, the Labour Force Survey does not identify which of these women were made redundant after becoming pregnant, nor are reliable estimates available from other sources.

Renewable Energy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost implications are of the EU's 2020 biofuel and renewable energy targets.

Malcolm Wicks: The European Commission estimates that meeting the target of 20 per cent. of energy consumption to come from renewable sources (including 10 per cent. biofuels) will cost between 24 billion and 31 billion across the EU in 2020. This is a central estimate of the additional costs to production for the whole of the EUthe number is based on modelling and will be sensitive to assumptions on technology costs, innovation rates, energy prices and carbon prices in the period to 2020.
	The UK is considering the European Commission's analysis and its implications for the UK.

Turbines: Health Hazards

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the effects on humans of low frequency noise from wind turbines.

Malcolm Wicks: In 2004 the Department commissioned Hayes McKenzie to report on claims that infrasound or low frequency noise emitted by wind turbine generators were causing health effects.
	Hayes McKenzie reported to the Department in May 2006 and the report concluded that there is no evidence of health effects arising from infrasound or low frequency noise generated by wind farms.
	A copy of the report can be found at
	www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/renewables/publications/page31267.html

Turbines: Health Hazards

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account his Department plans to take of the World Health Organisation Guidelines for Community Noise 1999 report in its guidance on wind turbine noise levels.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department uses the ETSU-R-97 guidance for wind turbine noise levels. There are no plans to review these limits.

Turbines: Health Hazards

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the merits of instituting a statutory minimum distance of separation between wind turbines in excess of 1MW installed capacity and  (a) residential and  (b) business dwellings.

Malcolm Wicks: Current planning guidance expects proposals to be evaluated on the likely impacts taking into account the characteristics of particular locations. The likely impact of noise from wind turbines on local residents and those working in the vicinity is always considered in relation to the existing background noise levels. Acceptable separation distances for a turbine located within an industrial area differ from those for one located in a rural area.
	The topography of the location, wind speeds and presence of natural barriers will also influence the levels of audibility in relation to nearby dwellings. For this reason, we do not intend to introduce inflexible separation distances. We continue to support the approach set out in Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 22Renewable Energy: that it is for local planning authorities to
	ensure that renewable energy developments have been located and designed in such a way to minimise increases in ambient noise levels,
	using the 1997 report by ETSU to assess and rate noise from wind energy developments.
	Overall, the minimum desirable distance between wind turbines and occupied buildings calculated on the basis of expected noise levels and visual impact will usually be greater than that necessary to meet safety requirements arising from structural failure. The Companion Guide to PPS22 states that fall over distance (i.e. the height of the turbine to the tip of the blade) plus 10 per cent. is often used as a safe separation distance.

UK Coal Operating Aid Scheme

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was paid out by the UK Coal Operating Aid Scheme in each year since 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK Coal Operating Aid Scheme was launched by the DTI in November 2000. Its aim was to allow those elements of the UK coal industry with a viable future without aid to overcome short-term market problems (in particular, low world coal prices and the lifting of the stricter gas consents policy) and to prevent a sudden and sharp decline in the size of the coal industry.
	A total of 162,170,995.00 was awarded between 2000 and 2002 in four tranches broken down as follows:
	Tranche 187,339,268 awarded in 2000
	Tranche 262,357,501 awarded in 2001
	Tranche 39,739,026 and
	Tranche 42,735,200 were awarded in 2002

Wind Power: Reaps Moss

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the application by Coronation Power to erect a windfarm on Reaps Moss will be subject to ministerial approval.

Malcolm Wicks: Coronation Power's proposed Reaps Moss wind farm would have installed capacity of up to 12 MW in total. Therefore the planning application will not be determined by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 as the installed capacity does not exceed 50 MW. The planning application is currently being considered by Rossendale borough council and Calderdale metropolitan borough council.

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance  (a) her Department and  (b) the Chief Medical Officer have issued since 1997 to primary care trusts on procedures for appointment of consultants to hospital posts with duties including (i) termination of pregnancy and (ii) advice on termination of pregnancy; if she will place in the Library copies of such guidance; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether medical students are required to undertake duties involving termination of pregnancy as part of their training; whether section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967 applies in such circumstances; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what research has been  (a) funded and  (b) carried out by her Department into discrimination against (i) medical students and (ii) trainee doctors who have a conscientious objection to abortion in the last five years; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what monitoring of the guidance issued by the Chief Medical Officer in 1989 on appointment of consultants: termination of pregnancy, that no reference to termination of pregnancy duties is to be made in a job advertisement for a new consultant, her Department has  (a) undertaken since 2006 and  (b) plans to undertake in the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department last issued guidance in 1994 in Health Service Guidelines HSG(94)39 'Appointment of doctors to hospital posts: termination of pregnancy'. These guidelines updated the guidance issued by the Chief Medical Officer in 1989. Copies are available in the Library.
	The Department checks job advertisements for hospital posts that might involve abortion on a regular basis. In addition, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists checks the job advertisements and reviews every job description. The guideline states if certain conditions have been satisfied, reference to termination of pregnancy should be included in the job description for career posts.
	Section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967 allows doctors to opt out of participating in any treatment for abortion to which they have a conscientious objection. As such, medical students are not required to undertake termination of pregnancy as part of their training but they are taught theory and implications of the Abortion Act.
	The House of Lords ruled in 1988 that this exemption does not extend to giving advice, performing the preparatory steps to arrange an abortion where the request meets legal requirements and undertaking administration connected with abortion procedures.
	No research has been funded or carried out by the Department in the last five years on discrimination against medical students or trainee doctors who have a conscientious objection to abortion. We have no plans to do so as we have no evidence to suggest that this is an issue.

Care Workers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1016W, on care workers, which councils had not completed the task force recommendations  (a) mostly and  (b) in full.

Ivan Lewis: The Department's task force on violence and abuse against social workers reported in 2000, and made a number of recommendations for employers, including that they should undertake a service and training needs analyses in this respect, and put in place and implement actions plans where required. The latest data collected by the Commission for Social Care Inspection from local councils for April 2005 indicate that more than 80 per cent. of councils had completed the taskforce recommendations mostly or in full. The data have not been collected for more recent years and therefore should be treated with caution as a statement of the current situation.
	At that time, around half all councils had completed the tasks set by the task force.
	The following two councils were classified as having not yet:
	Bracknell Forest; and
	Lambeth.
	The following 18 councils had completed some tasks:
	Brent;
	Coventry;
	Dudley;
	Gloucestershire;
	Halton;
	Hertfordshire;
	Lewisham;
	Newham;
	North East Lincolnshire;
	Oldham;
	Poole;
	Reading;
	Sefton;
	Slough;
	Southend-on-sea;
	Sunderland;
	Thurrock; and
	Trafford.
	The following 54 had completed most tasks:
	Bedfordshire;
	Bexley;
	Bolton;
	Bournemouth;
	Brighton;
	Buckinghamshire;
	Bury;
	Calderdale;
	Cambridgeshire;
	Camden;
	City of London;
	Coventry;
	Cumbria;
	Derby;
	Durham;
	Ealing;
	East Riding of Yorkshire;
	Essex;
	Gateshead;
	Hackney;
	Hammersmith and Fulham;
	Hampshire;
	Harrow;
	Hartlepool;
	Havering;
	Islington;
	Kingston-upon-Thames;
	Leicester;
	Leicestershire;
	Liverpool;
	Manchester;
	Merton;
	Milton Keynes;
	North Lincolnshire;
	North Somerset;
	Northumberland;
	Plymouth;
	Portsmouth;
	Rochdale;
	Rutland;
	Sandwell;
	Solihull;
	Southwark;
	Stockport;
	Suffolk;
	Surrey;
	Sutton;
	Swindon;
	Torbay;
	Tower Hamlets;
	Waltham Forest;
	Warrington;
	Wokingham; and
	Wolverhampton.

Childbirth

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of mothers spent  (a) less than one day,  (b) one day,  (c) two days,  (d) three days,  (e) four days,  (f) five days,  (g) six days,  (h) seven days and  (i) eight days or more in hospital after giving birth in each year since 1995 for which records are available.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  NHS hospital deliveries: duration of postnatal stay, 1995-96 to 2005-06, England 
			  Percentage 
			   Total number of deliveries( 1)  (=100%)  Same day  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8 or more 
			 1995-96 592,600 11 29 22 14 11 7 3 1 2 
			 1996-97 594,500 12 30 22 14 11 7 2 1 2 
			 1997-98 585,000 13 31 21 13 11 6 2 1 2 
			 1998-99 577,500 13 32 20 13 10 5 2 1 2 
			 1999-2000 565,300 13 33 20 14 10 5 2 1 2 
			 2000-01 549,600 13 33 20 14 10 5 2 1 2 
			 2001-02 541,700 13 33 20 15 9 4 2 1 2 
			 2002-03 548,000 14 34 20 15 8 4 2 1 2 
			 2003-04 575,900 15 35 20 15 8 3 2 1 2 
			 2004-05 584,100 16 35 21 15 7 3 2 1 2 
			 (1) Number of deliveries were taken from ONS birth registration data.  Notes: 1. Figures used to calculate percentages have been adjusted for shortfalls in data. It is probable that there are duplicates included in these counts, which we have not removed. There may also be a variety of errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. 2. Episode type: 2 = Delivery episode; 5 = Other delivery event 3. Data Quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) The Information Centre for health and social care

Clostridium: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the London borough of Bexley were diagnosed with  Clostridium difficile in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the format requested.
	However, the following table shows figures for Queen Mary's Sidcup National Health Service Trust in the years 2004-06.
	
		
			  Number of reported Clostridium difficile cases for Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 
			   Cases 
			 January to December 2004 160 
			 January to December 2005 251 
			 January to December 2006 188 
			  Source: Health Protection Agency

Dental Services

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there were per 100,000 population in  (a) rural and  (b) urban areas in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Data are available on the number of National Health Service dentists in rural and urban primary care trusts (PCTs), according to the classifications by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The data are constructed from PCT-level results. As an NHS dentist may have a contract in more than one PCT, the rural and urban totals will include duplication. Duplicates have been removed from the England results.
	The following table shows the number of NHS dentists per 100,000 population, by the PCT types, as at 31 March 2001 to 2006. To provide data prior to 2001 would be at disproportionate cost.
	Information at 31 March 2006 is the latest available as rural and urban PCT classifications are not yet available by the new PCT boundaries (as at 1 October 2006).
	
		
			  General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): Numbers of NHS dentists per 100,000 population, in England, as at 31 March each year 
			  PCT type( 1)  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 England 37 38 38 38 40 42 
			 Major urban 48 49 48 48 50 54 
			 Large urban 43 44 44 45 47 50 
			 Other urban 44 46 46 48 50 54 
			 Significant rural 42 43 43 43 45 49 
			 Rural-50 39 40 40 41 43 46 
			 Rural-80 39 38 40 41 42 45 
			  Notes: DEFRA classification of PCTs developed by the Rural Evidence Research Centre at Birkbeck College, September 2005. Information has been assigned at PCT level. The Birkbeck College classification are as follows: Major Urban: districts with either 100,000 people or 50 per cent., of their population in urban areas with a population of more than 750,000. Large Urban: districts with either 50,000 people or 50 per cent., of their population in one of 17 urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 750,000. Other Urban: districts with fewer than 37,000 people or less than 26 per cent., of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns. Significant Rural: districts with more than 37,000 people or more than 26 per cent., of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns. Rural-50: districts with at least 50 per cent., but less than 80 per cent., of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns. Rural-80: districts with at least 80 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) Office for National Statistics (ONS) Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
		
	
	Information has been taken from PCT results to obtain the split for each classification group. Some dentists may have an open general or personal dental services contract in more than one PCT and will therefore have been counted more than once. The England totals exclude duplication.
	The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to PCTs. Under the former GDS arrangements (up to 31 March 2006), a dentist could provide as much or as little NHS treatment as he or she chose. In some cases an NHS dentist may be listed to carry out NHS work but may not do so for a given period.
	Information is based on Office for National Statistics mid-year 2004 population figures.

Departmental Surveys

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what opinion polls have been undertaken by her Department since May 2005; and what the  (a) cost and  (b) purpose was of each.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect this information centrally. However, information on opinion research commissioned by the Department's Communications Directorate since May 2005 is available as follows. This should be regarded as an indicative guide on spend only.
	Since May 2005, the Communications Directorate has spent 308,115 on the following opinion polling:
	133,315: four waves of an national health service staff surveyto listen to NHS staff to understand their challenges and experiences to improve staff engagement and inform policy development and business planning;
	154,000: four waves of a public surveyto listen to the public and gain insight on public sentiment and patient experience to create better quality and more responsive public services;
	18,590: public monitorto understand the public's concerns for the NHS to create better quality and more responsive public services; and
	2,200: national health journalist surveyto gather operational information to improve the service we provide to journalists.

Departments: Energy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) instructions are issued to staff in her Department and  (b) technical procedures are in place to shut down computers at night.

Ivan Lewis: All members of staff are instructed to shut down their computers at the end of their working day. The shutdown process automatically switches off the power to the computer and puts the monitor into a low power sleep mode. Staff have been encouraged also to switch off their monitors at the end of their working day as part of an internal sustainable development awareness programme.
	There are no technical facilities or procedures in place to enforce a complete shutdown of computers and monitors at night. However, if staff neglect to shut down their computers at the end of the day, the equipment automatically enters a low power sleep mode within 30 minutes of inactivity.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by her Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The percentage of paper used by the Department from recycled sources for the last three years has been:
	for photocopying, 80 per cent. of the paper used is from recycled sources; for printed publications, all of our parliamentary work, carried out by Central Office of Information (COI), is published in accordance with the guidance as set out by the Office of Public Sector Information, September 2006 which states that the minimum recycled fibre content required is 60 per cent. for coated and 100 per cent. for uncoated papers; and for all other printed publications, the selection of paper stock is based on the most cost-effective quotation that represents value for money use of public funds. As such, the actual brand of recycled and environmentally friendly paper and its specifications rests with the COI and the Department is unable to make a detailed statement on the information requested.

Departments: Sexual Harassment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints of sexual harassment have been investigated in her Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld.

Ivan Lewis: There have been no complaints of sexual harassment investigated by the Department in the last 12 months.

Diamorphine

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the availability of diamorphine relative to demand in the NHS; and which suppliers provide diamorphine to the NHS.

Caroline Flint: There are two suppliers of diamorphine to the United Kingdom market, Novartis and Wockhardt. Both are working to their full available capacity, but are currently unable to produce enough to meet historic demand, although that demand may have changed owing to changes in prescribing practice. The supply position improved during 2006 and the trend is expected to be maintained during 2007. However, the improvements vary by product strength, reflecting manufacturing capacity issues. Some strengths remain in relatively poor supply, while the position for others is satisfactory. We believe that through careful prescribing and use of available stocks, as advised in the guidance the Department issued to prescribers and healthcare professionals in December 2004, patient care is not being compromised.

Doctors: Training

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what percentage of the period since 22 January when doctors used the system to apply for training posts the Medical Training Application Service system experienced technical difficulties; and if she will list the technical difficulties.

Rosie Winterton: The Medical Training Application Service system has been fully available for doctors to apply for training posts since it went live in October 2006. Until 25 April, the system was available for use for 99.7 per cent. of the time. On two occasions since 22 January the system was heavily loaded and ran slowly, causing some users to have intermittent difficulties accessing the service until load balancing adjustments had been made. The application period was extended to allow for this.

Doctors: Training

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pieces of correspondence  (a) she and  (b) her Department received raising concern about the Modernising Medical Careers programme in (i) January, (ii) February, (iii) March and (iv) April 2007.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of pieces of correspondence the Department has received concerning the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) programme.
	
		
			  MMC correspondence received in 2007 
			 January 70 
			 February 86 
			 March 758 
			 April 344 
			 Total 1,258 
		
	
	Unfortunately, owing to the way that correspondence is recorded, we cannot state the amount of these that were addressed to the Secretary of State for Health without disproportionate cost.

Ephedrine

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultations her Department has carried out with individual GP practices on the likely impact of making prescribable over-the-counter medicines containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine on their work load and the services they provide to patients.

Caroline Flint: On 7 March 2007, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) started a public consultation exercise on proposals to restrict the availability of medicines containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine by a change to legal status from pharmacy to prescription only, together with a restriction in pack size. This followed advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM).
	The MHRA welcomes views on the merits and impact of the consultation proposals from all stakeholders including individual general practitioners, and the responses received will be given full consideration by the CHM, the MHRA and health Ministers before a decision is made.
	In the light of external interest and questions, the MHRA is making available more information in relation to the consultation exercise. In order to give interested parties time to consider this additional information the deadline for comments will be extended by a month until the end of June.

Folic Acid

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors she will take into account in making a decision on recommendations made by the Board of the Food Standards Agency on folic acid fortification; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: This is an important issue which will need very careful consideration. The decision will need to take account of the potential benefits and risks to different population groups, the impact on consumer choice and the practical implications for the industry. The independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, which advises both health departments and the Food Standards Agency (FSA), has already published advice and the FSA is expected to provide advice following its board meeting on 17 May.

Health Authorities: Reorganisation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has made an estimate of the total additional expenditure necessitated by the  (a) reorganisation of strategic health authorities on 1 July 2006 and  (b) reorganisation of primary care trusts on 1 October 2006.

Andy Burnham: The Department estimates that there will be no additional overall expenditure resulting from the implementation of the Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS initiative.
	The reconfiguration of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities provides an opportunity to deliver savings, both by reducing the number of organisations and through the greater sharing of functions. By 2008, this reconfiguration is expected to deliver at least 250 million savings each year for reinvestment in front-line services.

Health Services: Asylum

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what response she has made to the conclusion of the Tenth Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, HC 60-1, that the denial of secondary healthcare to refused asylum seekers is inconsistent with the UK's international human rights obligations;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the impact of the denial of secondary healthcare to refused asylum seekers on their health;
	(3)  how many refused asylum seekers  (a) sought and  (b) were denied access to secondary healthcare in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: No one in need of immediately necessary treatment to save life or prevent a condition from becoming life-threatening will ever have that treatment refused or denied, irrespective of their immigration status. However, the principle remains that the national health service is intended primarily for those who are legally resident in this country. Those who are not, including failed asylum seekers who have not left the United Kingdom, should not expect to receive NHS treatment free of charge. Successive Governments have not required NHS trusts to submit statistics on the number of overseas visitors treated, or on the cost of doing so.
	The Home Office document Enforcing the rules: a strategy to ensure and enforce compliance with our immigration laws, published in March, announced that a review of access to the NHS by foreign nationals would be carried out jointly by the Home Office and the; Department. The review, to be completed by October, will specifically consider the position of failed asylum seekers.
	The Government will respond to the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights in due course.

Health Services: Inquiries

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was in real terms of the  (a) national confidential inquiry into suicide and homicide by people with mental illness,  (b) confidential inquiry into maternal and child health and  (c) national confidential inquiry into patient outcome and death in each year for which they have been running; and what assessment she has made of the merits of each of these inquiries.

Ivan Lewis: Following the Department's arm's length body (ALB) review, responsibility for managing the contracts the work of the three existing national confidential inquiries was transferred from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) with effect from April 2005.
	The costs of the three inquiries for the last four years are:
	 National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD)
	Annual contract value for 2007-08: 840,769.
	Annual budget was 809,472 for the years 2006-07, 2005-06 and 2004-05
	 Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH)
	The contract is with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists as CEMACH is not a separate legal body.
	Annual contract value for 2007-08: 1,384,915.
	Annual budget has remained same over the years 2006-07, 2005-06 and 2004-05.
	 National Confidential Inquiry into Suicides and Homicides (NCISH)
	The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicides and Homicides is a national research project, established in April 1996, as part of the work of School of Medicine, Division of Psychiatry within the University of Manchester.
	Annual contract value for 2007-08: 868,791.
	Annual budget was 839,412 in the years 2006-07, 2005-06 and 2004-05.
	The confidential inquiries are separate, independent bodies. The NPSA agrees the bulk of their funding and through quarterly meetings, monitors each of them in terms of their performance and compliance with the terms of the contract. The agency has no role in the day to day running of the confidential inquiries.
	The agency recently completed a review of the three confidential inquiries. The aim was to evaluate their impact on clinical practice, quality of care and patient safety. The findings for each are summarised as follows.
	 National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death
	The review found that that the enquiry had a unique product history and had demonstrated significant achievements. The review panel felt that more focus should be given to assessing impact on clinical practice, where necessary in collaboration with other agencies and devolved Administrations. The review panel made a number of recommendations which are being considered by the enquiry and action is under way to address the review report's recommendations.
	 National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide
	The review panel considered that NCISH provided value for money and was fulfilling its remit in terms of the provision of high quality, internationally renowned research thus improving patient care by providing an evidence base for changes to policy and clinical practice. The inquiry is now in the process of evaluating the implementation of key service recommendations.
	Recommendations have also been made to improve governance, influence on policy across all four countries of the United Kingdom and dissemination of output. Action is under way to address the review report' recommendations and an independent steering group has been set up.
	 Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health
	The review panel supported the work of CEMACH. The panel felt that the enquiry was adding value in terms of quality but without any cost-benefit analysis, were less able to assess its value in terms of cost.
	A number of recommendations were made which included the need to review the functionality of the present organisational and committee structure. The enquiry is taking action to address the recommendations and an action plan is being actively developed.

Health Services: North West Region

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the board of the new community interest company planned by the North West strategic health authority to improve public health will be chosen; and what lines of accountability it will have.

Ivan Lewis: NHS North West is working with Heart of Mersey to set up a community interest company to develop social marketing methods to improve the health of the population in the North West of England. The project is still in development.

Health Services: North West Region

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any consultants have been employed to advise on the setting up of the new public interest company planned by the North West strategic health authority.

Ivan Lewis: The charitable organisation Heart of Mersey is developing a brand for a comprehensive approach to the promotion of better health in the North West of England. The branding work will be used as an umbrella programme for the work of the community interest company.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many E112 authorisations her Department issued in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Patients may receive treatment in other member states of the European Economic Area and in Switzerland through the E112 referral scheme, in accordance with Regulation (EEC) 1408/71. This regulation co-ordinates the social security and healthcare schemes of the member states.
	Information about patients from England, Scotland and Wales referred abroad using the E112 procedure is shown in the table (only figures from 1998 were readily available).
	
		
			   Number of E112s issued 
			 1998 813 
			 1999 1,099 
			 2001 861 
			 2000 1,139 
			 2002 1,120 
			 2003 1,052 
			 2004 353 
			 2005 228 
			 2006 357 
			  Note: The drop in referrals from 2004 is due to the change in EC healthcare rules that took place that year. Since 1 June 2004, patients no longer need an E112 for the ongoing care of pre-existing medical conditions. This is now covered on the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Heart Diseases

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many qualified personnel are available to operate myocardial perfusion scanners in  (a) west Lancashire,  (b) the north-west and  (c) England;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to recruit additional staff to operate myocardial perfusion scanners.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of qualified personnel who are available to operate myocardial perfusion scanners is not collected centrally.
	Work force planning is a matter for local determination. It is for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to determine their work force needs, as they are best placed to assess the healthcare requirements of their local population.

Hospital Wards

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) accident and emergency,  (b) maternity and  (c) paediatric hospital wards (i) closed and (ii) opened in (A) rural and (B) non-rural areas in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Information regarding maternity and paediatric hospital wards is not collected in the format requested. National health service trusts self-report the number of accident and emergency (AandE) services they provide against definitions provided by the Department for the three types of AandE on a quarterly basis. The information available for type 1 (major) AandE departments is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of type 1 AandE departments 
			 2001-02 196 
			 2002-03 209 
			 2003-04 208 
			 2004-05 207 
			 2005-06 203 
			 2006-07 204 
			  Notes:  1. QMAE data used for type 1 AandE departments for years 2002-03 to 2006-07. 2. KH03 data used for type 1 AE departments for year 2001-02. 3. Position is at end March except for 2006-07 where position is at end December 2006.  Source: QMAE and KH03 
		
	
	Prior to 2000-01, NHS trusts submitted written information on whether or not they provided AandE services. They did not submit a count of the number of services provided. The following table shows information for the number of trusts that said they were providing type 1 (major) AandE services for the period available.
	
		
			   Number of trusts reporting type 1 (major) AandE services 
			 1996-97 205 
			 1997-98 202 
			 1998-99 194 
			 1999-2000 186 
			 2000-01 179 
			  Note: Position is at end March.  Source: Department of Health KH03 dataset

Junior Doctors: Recruitment

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards are in place to verify the qualifications of overseas applicants in the new procedures being followed for junior hospital doctor appointments.

Rosie Winterton: Applicants are expected to bring with them to interview and assessments for specialty registrar programmes evidence of the qualifications required, as outlined in the person specification. The evidence required and the application process have been designed in accordance with Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board requirements.

Medicine: Internet

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the provision on internet sites of the shortlisting marking scheme and model answers on the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS); and if she will add appropriate links to the MTAS's website to make such information available to all visitors to the website.

Rosie Winterton: The evidence required and the application process through the Medical Training Application Service has been designed in accordance with Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board requirements. In view of the widespread concern over the shortlisting process we set up an independent review of the Modernising Medical Careers recruitment and selection process. This is being led by Professor Neil Douglas, vice-chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Members of the review group include representatives of the Royal Colleges, the British Medical Association, the four United Kingdom Health Departments and National Health Service Employers.

Medicine: Students

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the scoring system used for the Medical Training Application Service as part of Modernising Medical Careers operates.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	In developing the recruitment process, the Royal Colleges agreed the content and requirements of the person specifications for each specialty and level.
	When undertaking shortlisting, at least two selectors scored each answer on the application forms against nationally agreed scoring criteria. Selectors are mostly clinicians in the appropriate specialty, but the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board requires lay input into the selection process.
	However, as a result of the review of recruitment for specialty training, as outlined in the review group's statement on 4 April, selection will now honour the aforementioned, but also ensure that all eligible applicants to specialty training in England will be invited for interview in their first affirmed preference.

Midwives: Insurance

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for representatives of her Department to meet representatives of the Independent Midwives Association to discuss the future of professional indemnity insurance for the profession.

Ivan Lewis: The Chief Nursing Officer is holding a further meeting with representatives from the independent midwife community, including the Independent Midwives Association (IMA), on 21 May to update them on the progress in exploring different options available. My noble Friend the Minister of State, Lord Hunt of King's Heath, has also agreed to meet with representatives from the IMA in the future.

Midwives: Manpower

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the Royal College of Midwives' estimates of the number of full-time equivalent midwives required to ensure that the proposals in Maternity Matters can be implemented; and whether she has made her own estimate;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the full-time equivalent number of  (a) fully qualified midwives and  (b) maternity care attendants needed in the (i) acute and (ii) community sector to enable the guarantees made in Maternity Matters to be implemented;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the  (a) overall capacity of maternity services,  (b) qualified midwife staffing ratios on acute wards,  (c) caseloads of community midwives and  (d) availability of safety and monitoring equipment before the publication of Maternity Matters;
	(4)  what factors were taken into account by her Department in estimating the appropriate caseload of community midwives to enable the guarantees in Maternity Matters to be implemented;
	(5)  what estimate she has made of the additional  (a) staff and  (b) facilities which will be needed to implement the Maternity Matters proposals.

Ivan Lewis: The 2007-08 NHS operating framework requires local national health service organisations to undertake a review of their maternity services, identify the gaps and barriers to service development and set out their local strategy for delivery of Maternity Matters. The review needs to include an assessment of their work force capacity.
	Some NHS organisations may identify the need to invest in their services and resources to enable them to adapt and enhance services and some may increase their work force capacity. Strategies will need to identify the appropriate staffing ratio, skill mix and caseloads based on the needs of the local population. It is important that these decisions are made locally as they know their local needs best and can ensure that services are developed to meet these needs.
	Maternity Matters highlights the need to engage with all stakeholders throughout local implementation and this will be supported by national engagement with representatives from a range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Midwives.

MRSA

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of STERIS vaporised hydrogen peroxide technology in tackling MRSA within the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 3 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1843W.

NHS: Constitutions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to establish a constitution for the NHS.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 16 May 2007
	The founding values of the national health service are secure with this Government. The Government continue to develop the vision and policies for an NHS that is fit for the challenges of a new century. In this context, an NHS constitution could provide a clear expression of what is unchanging about the values of the NHS. It would set down and protect the values of what is a precious and unique institution, at the same time as the NHS itself is reforming and improving. The Government are currently exploring the idea of a constitution for the NHS, on which it could then consult. If successful, this work and consultation could lead to the adoption of a new constitution for the NHS in 2008, its 60th anniversary year, setting out a direction for the next decade.

NHS: Consultants

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what she expects the estimated change in costs to the NHS to be of implementing the new consultants' contract in each of the years to 2011-12.

Rosie Winterton: The new consultant contract was implemented over three years from 2003-04 to 2005-06. Around 90 per cent. of consultants are now on the new contract, and all new appointments will be to the new contract. The funding invested included a recurrent addition of 250 million to meet the additional costs of consultant pay that are a consequence of having implemented the new contract.

NHS: Lost Working Days

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many working days were lost  (a) in her Department and  (b) in the NHS owing to sickness and injury in 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The average number of working days lost per person in the Department in 2006 because of sickness and injury was 8.7. This is a provisional figure and covers the core Department only.
	The average number of working days lost per person in the national health service in 2005 because of sickness and injury is estimated to be 9.9. Information for 2006 is not yet available.

NHS: Management

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the merits of an independent board for the NHS.

Andy Burnham: The Government have already introduced significant independence into decision-making in the national health service, reducing Whitehall control over decisions that are better taken at regional and local level.
	The Government's reforms are devolving decision-making and giving people more choice and more say, so that the NHS responds to the wishes of the public. Foundation trusts are free from day-to-day Whitehall control, allowing them to innovate and improve clinical care for the benefit of patients. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence gives independent advice to the NHS on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of different drugs and treatments that should be available across the NHS. The independent Healthcare Commission assesses healthcare providers against a set of national quality standards, and publishes independent assessments of how well hospitals are doing at providing safe and effective care.
	The Government keep under review the way the Department and the NHS work together.

NHS: Public Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many appointments the Appointments Commission made in each year since its creation;
	(2)  how many appointees chosen by the Appointments Commission in each year since its creation  (a) had served and  (b) were serving in another appointed capacity.

Rosie Winterton: I have asked the Chair of the Commission to write to the hon. Member with the information on numbers of appointments.

NHS: Resignations

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the reasons given for the resignation of  (a) Professor Alan Crockard as National Director for Modernising Medical Careers and  (b) his deputy Professor Shelley Heard.

Rosie Winterton: The resignation letters were private letters to Sir Liam Donaldson and therefore it is not appropriate for the Department to divulge their contents.

NHS: Training

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent consideration she has given to the merits of increasing the number of training posts in the national health service.

Rosie Winterton: The number of training posts agreed for 2007 was announced in December 2006 following extensive local negotiations between strategic health authorities, postgraduate deaneries and national health service trusts to establish the appropriate numbers required to meet service and training needs. The former Minister of State Lord Warner committed the Government to at least 18,000 additional training posts in England.
	The review group is exploring the possibilities for creating further training opportunities where these can support local workforce requirements. This work is currently ongoing.

Parkinson's Disease: Prescriptions

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will review the effect of charges for prescriptions for sufferers of Parkinson's disease.

Caroline Flint: We are currently undertaking a review of prescription charges and will be reporting the outcome before the summer recess. This review will include options to:
	revise the list of medical exemptions to prescription charges;
	introduce a flat rate prescription charge with no exemptions; and
	base exemption to prescription charges solely on income.
	These options will be considered on the basis that any changes to prescription charge exemptions, if implemented, are cost-neutral for the national health service.

Primary Care Trusts: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what local targets referred to in the operating framework for 2007-08, gateway reference 7408, published on 11 December 2006, have so far been agreed between primary care trusts and providers.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not held centrally.

Primary Health Care

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to ensure that clinical professionals other than general practitioners receive appropriate training to carry out semi-specialist services at a primary care level; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is not responsible for setting curricula for health professional training; that is rightly the responsibility of the statutory and professional bodies. However, we do share a commitment with those bodies that all health professionals are trained so that they have the skills and knowledge to deliver a high-quality health service to all groups of the population with whom they deal.
	Post-registration training needs for national health service staff are decided against local national health service priorities, through appraisal processes and training needs analyses informed by local delivery plans and the needs of the service.
	Access to training is affected by a number of factors such as the availability of funding, whether staff can be released and the availability of appropriate training interventions, mentors and assessors. It would not be practical for the centre to be prescriptive on this.

Recruitment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 809-10W, on recruitment, what plans her Department has to collect further data from strategic health authorities relating to the employment position of graduates at later dates than 30 November 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The current data collection on graduates focuses on those who graduated in September 2006. It is the Department's intention that further data on those who graduated in February 2007 will be collected.
	The time scale for this, along with other aspects of the collection such as its frequency and format, is still being discussed with strategic health authorities. The Department remains committed to reducing the burden of data collection on the national health service, and we are exploring the use of data from the talent pools and NHS Employers.

Ritalin

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were prescribed Ritalin in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) the area corresponding as closely as possible to Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland in each of the last seven years, broken down by age.

Caroline Flint: Ritalin is one brand of the drug methylphenidate hydrochloride. The Department does not hold data on the number of patients prescribed methylphenidate hydrochloride drugs but the table shows the number of prescription items dispensed in the community for the areas requested.
	Estimated figures are based on a sample of one in 20 prescriptions and have been grossed up to reflect the population totals and rounded.
	
		
			  Prescription items for methylphenidate hydrochloride 
			  Thousand 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  England
			 Prescription item dispensed 186.2 208.5 254.0 314.5 359.1 389.2 456.9 
			 Estimated number of items dispensed to children 160.0 190.0 230.0 280.0 330.0 350.0 410.0 
			 Estimated number of items dispensed to the elderly 2.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 2.0 5.0 6.0 
			 
			  North East England
			 Prescription items prescribed in North East England n/a n/a n/a 15.0 17.9 19.4 22.7 
			 
			  Primary care trust (PCT)
			 Prescription items prescribed in Langbaurgh PCT (to end September 2006) n/a n/a n/a 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.6 
			 Prescription items prescribed in Redcar and Cleveland PCT (from 1 October 2006)   0.3 
			 Prescription items prescribed in Middlesbrough PCT (to end September 2006) n/a n/a n/a 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.5 
			 Prescription items prescribed in Middlesbrough PCT (from 1 October 2006)   0.3 
			  Notes: Primary care trusts were reorganised with effect from 1 October.

Wheelchairs: Voucher Schemes

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which primary care trusts provided wheelchair vouchers for families with a disabled child in each of the last three financial years;
	(2)  whether she has made an assessment of the  (a) adequacy and  (b) merits for families of the NHS Wheelchair Voucher scheme;
	(3)  what progress has been made in meeting the Health Care Standards for Wheelchair Services under the NHS, as agreed by the National Wheelchair Managers' Forum in March 2005; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  how much was spent on NHS wheelchair services for  (a) children and young people and  (b) others in England in each of the last five financial years, broken down by primary care trust;
	(5)  what assessment she has made of the mobility needs of children who do not meet NHS eligibility criteria for powered indoor and outdoor wheelchairs;
	(6)  what percentage of children and young people under the age of 18 referred to a local wheelchair service in each of the last five years did not meet the NHS's eligibility criteria for  (a) a lightweight manual wheelchair and  (b) a powered indoor and outdoor wheelchair;
	(7)  which NHS wheelchair services provided powered indoor-outdoor wheelchairs for disabled children and young people aged  (a) two years and under,  (b) between the ages of three and five years,  (c) between the ages of six and 12 years and  (d) between the ages of 13 and 18 years in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect centrally the following information:
	the number of primary care trusts (PCTs) which provided wheelchair vouchers to families with a disabled child in each of the last three financial years;
	how much was spent on national health service wheelchair services for  (a) children and young people and  (b) others in England, broken down by primary care trust, in each of the last five financial years;
	what percentage of children and young people under the age of 18 referred to a local wheelchair service in each of the last five years did not meet the NHS's eligibility criteria for  (a) a lightweight manual wheelchair and  (b) a powered indoor and outdoor wheelchair; and
	which NHS wheelchair services provided powered indoor-outdoor wheelchairs to disabled children and young people aged  (a) aged two years and under,  (b) between the ages of three and five years,  (c) between the ages of six and 12 years and  (d) between the ages of 13 and 18 years in each of the last three years.
	The Department commissioned the York Health Economics Consortium to evaluate the powered wheelchair and voucher scheme initiatives. Its report, published in March 2000, recommended that the continuation of voucher schemes should be a matter for local decision in consultation with service users.
	The transforming community equipment and wheelchair services programme has developed two potential models for wheelchair services in collaboration with users and their carers. However, further data are required before recommendations can be made for the way forward. The programme will be working with wheelchair services to develop the new data gathering exercise. David Nicholson, the NHS Chief Executive, will be writing to PCTs and strategic health authorities to encourage them to support this next stage of the programme.
	The mobility needs of children are assessed at a local level as part of individual needs assessments and planning. No separate assessment is made by the Department.
	The National Wheelchair Managers' Forum has adopted the national wheelchair service standards (2004). A national working party developed the standards. This document was not produced or endorsed by the Department and is not subject to Departmental monitoring or review.

Young People: Alcoholic Drinks

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to inform young people of the long-term impact of sustained, excessive alcohol consumption on their health.

Caroline Flint: The Government are determined to reduce the harm caused to young people by alcohol misuse and committed to educating young people on the very real harm it can cause. Alcohol education is now part of the national curriculum. Updated guidance makes clear that alcohol education should be about sensible drinking and reducing harm.
	The Government have funded a high profile alcohol campaign, 'Know your Limits', aimed at 18 to 24-year-old binge drinkers, warning them of the harms associated with binge drinking.